NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The trial continues for Javon Doyle, one of four men accused of killing ODU student Chris Cummings. Cummings is the nephew of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings.
Doyle faces first-degree murder along with thirteen other charges.
The shooting happened on June 10th, 2011. Jake Carey testified on the stand that someone kicked in the door. He said multiple footsteps went up the stairs to Cummings’ room. Carey said there was “initial yelling, scuffle and gunshot went off.”
He waited a few minutes and then grabbed his knife. He cracked open his door and saw a man with a white shirt. Later, he was able to make it out of his door and whispered to Cummings. He looked down the hallway and stepped forward and was shot four times.
Just hours before the shooting, Carey said he received a frantic call from Cummings around midnight.
Carey drove over to his home. When he arrived, Carey heard Cummings in a heated argument with someone else.
After the incident, Carey asked Cummings what happened. Cummings said someone was in the home and pulled a gun on him.
Dr. Jeffrey Gofton testified about Cummings’ injuries he sustained that night. He said he had blunt force trauma to his hands, chest and knees.
Dr. Gofton found around a .02 Blood Alcohol Content in his system. He said that is about a single beer’s worth of alcohol.
Cummings sustained a gunshot wound to the face and abdomen. The gunshot wound to the stomach caused internal bleeding and ultimately was the cause of death.
Thursday’s testimonies also included inmate Kevin Ashby. Ashby testified about his conversation with Doyle and Mike Mike.
Ashby testified in shackles as he is serving time after pleading guilty to a double homicide in Newport News.
He told the jury he was getting the low down of what was going on in the streets when he learned about an incident in Norfolk near the ODU campus. He was told that a couple of guys, including Kwaume Edwards, Doyle and another guy, hit a “lick” for “exotic marijuana.”
He clarified on the stand that a lick is similar to a home invasion and the weed at Cumming’s home was supposedly powerful.
Ashby said Rashad Dooley’s Red Honda was issued to drive away from the crime scene.
Investigator Matthew Burham, a forensic investigator at the time, said they found a piece of paper with stains of an unknown substance. It had Dooley’s name and phone number on it. The paper was in a Red Honda Civic. Cold case investigator, Jon Smith, said a red vehicle was seen at the intersection of Killam Avenue and West 42nd Street around midnight. Investigator Smith said on cross-examination he was not sure if the Red Honda Civic was involved. There was also no forensic evidence from the red car.
The red car also came up in prior testimony from Jake Carey, who was Cumming’s roommate. He saw that car on his driveway hours prior during the heated exchange on the porch.
Text messages from Cummings phone also show that a contact name “Christian’s Friend Mad” texted about picking up some weed around 10 p.m. The number was linked to Amhad Watson. He texted Cummings and said he was going to text him when he was on the way. He texted Cummings around midnight and said, “I’m on my way. I’m bout to come through if it’s good.”
Ashby said the reason for the shooting was because Cumming was “bucking back at them.”
Doyle’s attorney, Emily Munn, pointed out that Ashby received a reduced sentence for his cooperation. His sentence went from life plus 48 months to around 30 years.
After the lunch break, the Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, Cynthia Collard, revealed that Doyle’s co-defendant and an unknown person were in the courtroom. Collard said the pair was glaring at witnesses and the families. She asked the judge to close the courtroom to family only, but the judge denied the request.
The case will continue on Friday at 9 a.m. The attorneys expect to wrap up Friday.