Friday, March 29, 2013

Baby Shooting Case: Another Arrest

This case gets stranger by the day.


ATLANTA - A Georgia city official was arrested Thursday on charges of obstructing enforcement and influencing a witness in the case involving the fatal shooting of a one-year-old boy.
An attorney for Brunswick city commissioner and mayor pro tem James Henry Brooks told WTLF-TV that his client was arrested for stepping between police and Karimah Elkins, the mother of 17-year-old suspect De'Marquise Elkins, when police tried speaking with her during a court appearance Monday.
Karimah Elkins and De'Marquise's older sister, Sabrina Elkins, were charged with evidence tampering. The indictment says they threw the revolver that police suspect was used in the shooting into a saltwater pond where investigators recovered it Tuesday.
Karimah Elkins and the suspect's aunt, Katrina Elkins, were also charged with making false statements to police.
Brooks - who also faces racketeering charges in Camden County - was held Thursday night in the Glynn County jail on $1,256 bond for obstruction. The Associate Press reports that sheriff's officials said he had been held without bond on a charge of influencing a witness, but according to CBS affiliate WTEV, a Glynn County judge granted bail and he is expected to be released Friday morning.
WTEV also reports that Brooks' attorney, Alan David Tucker, released a statement asserting that Brooks was tricked into believing the alibis provided by Elkins' mother and aunt. The statement read:
"It was [Brooks'] honest belief at the time that he was trying to protect the rights of his constituents by advising them to remain silent and not make any additional statements to the police without having a lawyer present. Unfortunately, he learned later that the Elkins were not being truthful with the police when they made statements about Mr. Elkins' whereabouts during the time of the shooting."
Brooks' arrest came as investigators were looking at a possible gang tie in the slaying of a Georgia toddler. They said Thursday that a bullet used in the shooting had been recovered.
More search warrants were executed Wednesday night, though Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering didn't say specifically what evidence might have been found.
The chief did reveal Thursday that investigators have recovered the bullet they believe was fired in the killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago as his mother strolled him down a sidewalk on March 21 in Brunswick, a town on Georgia's coast. The bullet and a .22-caliber handgun, which was found submerged in a pond two miles from the crime scene, are now being analyzed at a crime lab.
Elkins and a 15-year-old male have been charged as adults with murder and other counts.
When asked directly whether it's possible the shooting was a part of a gang initiation, Doering wouldn't go that far, saying investigators are exploring "whether gang involvement is part of this."
Police are concerned about the safety of witnesses in the emotionally charged case, the chief said. However, he pleaded with people who have information to come forward, and to put aside their fears in the interest of justice.
"We know there are still witnesses out there, people who have information," Doering said.
An indictment returned this week accuses Elkins of shooting the child in the face.
Elkins' attorney, Kevin Gough, has said his client is "absolutely, 1,000 percent not guilty."
Two sensitivity indicators:
1.  "Absolutely" weakens the assertion
2.  "1,000 percent" weakens the assertion even weaker. 
The second suspect is also charged with murder, though prosecutors say they believe it was Elkins who shot the child and wounded his mother in an attempted robbery.
The police chief said attempted robbery charges also were filed but nothing was taken during the killing. It still appears the slaying was random, Brunswick police said.
The few details contained in the indictment seem to back up the story that the slain baby's mother, Sherry West, has repeated to numerous reporters: She was pushing her baby in a stroller when two youths approached asking for money. West says when she refused, the older teen drew a gun and shot her in the leg before shooting her son in the head.
District Attorney Jackie Johnson said she would not seek the death penalty against either suspect because Georgia law doesn't allow capital punishment for defendants charged with crimes committed before they were 18.
Elkins was also indicted on two counts in a second attempted robbery and shooting that happened 10 days before the baby was slain.

62 comments:

Jeff said...

I read this earlier today and can't wait to get more information about it. Councilman inserting himself into questioning? I'm sure he's always fishing for votes just like the rest of them, but the arrest certainly makes me wonder exactly what happened. This case does, indeed, get stranger by the day. (I just realized I used the term, fishing, in a story where a pond was possibly used to hide the weapon. I'm using statement analysis so much I'm now using it on myself!).

Statement Analysis Blog said...

good point, Jeff.

Shot baby be damned, there are votes out there to be gleaned and a camera running!

Anonymous said...

I don't believe the author of the article thinks West is innocent. The part about the details "seem to back up the story" she has repeated to the media makes me think the writer still has doubts about her (as do I).

CarlaP said...

"Brooks is a distant relative of the Elkins family, his wife, Alicia Brooks, told CNN. She did not know exactly how they are related."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/29/us/georgia-brunswick-baby-shooting/?hpt=us_c2

Sus said...

Notice it is Brook's attorney who says the charge is for "stepping between" them. The police may have a lot more than that.

Brook's racketeering charges stem from taking bribes from felons to expunge their records and get them on the police force. He halso had a badge and police radio, and was known to show up at crime scenes to interfere with the investigative process.

"Certain" constituents seemed to know they could get away with...murder. Sounds like a crime boss to me. He has been investigated and charged by the GBI.

SAlurker said...

The reporting in this case has been just terrible. The reporters change the story constantly. I read the above article last night wondered about the following:

"The bullet and a .22-caliber handgun, which was found submerged in a pond two miles from the crime scene, are now being analyzed at a crime lab."

I thought to myself how could "the bullet" be found with the gun.

In another article-it was apparent that it was not found with the gun.

There have been many instances in this case of incorrect information being reported. It's hard to know what's correct & what is not.

Anonymous said...

The bullet and a .22-caliber handgun, which was found submerged in a pond two miles from the crime scene

--------------------

I thought to myself how could "the bullet" be found with the gun.


The bullet wasn't found with the gun in the lake and the sentence never makes that claim:

"The bullet and a .22-caliber handgun, which was found"

"which WAS found" = "WAS" is the key word here

If both were found the tense would be "WERE" ("The bullet and a .22-caliber handgun, which WERE found")

CarlaP said...

SAlurker, I read today that the recovered bullet was from the baby's body. This would indicate an autopsy was performed before cremation. Sherry West made a point to mention in this interview that she refused to have the bullet removed from her leg "they said they couldn't take it out, they said, they said it would be too much damage to my ligaments in my knee if they took it out and I could get infection and lose my leg, so I decided not to, um, to take the, to go for the surgery". She was shot in the thigh.

http://www.fox30jax.com/mostpopular/story/Bullet-recovered-new-arrest-in-Brunswick-baby/Qk4MfBetwk-Qvf8fMMu-ag.cspx

http://youtu.be/DdkY1nmMxfU

Anonymous said...

"WAS" = SINGULAR.............

CarlaP said...

Which raises the question, how could she decide against a surgery that "they" couldn't perform anyway?

Anonymous said...

strange they say they found "the" bullit. as in singular. when Sherry claimed there were 4 shots fired, one at the ground, one at her ear, her leg - and the fatal shot to her baby's face. she also said the boys ran away - not that they stayed and retrieved the bullit that was shot into her baby's face, so how could "the" bullit have ended up over a mile away hidden in a pond with the revolver??

SALurker said...

Exactly. It doesn't say it outright.
But most certainly infers it.

Terrible reporting.

Anonymous said...

oh -- sounds like they got the bullit from the baby and the gun from the pond and they are going to try to match them. ok -- if that's the case makes more sense.

they sure seem sure it was these boys, and they are intense throwing all these other people in jail who say anything to the contrary. what if somebody really has evidence these boys didn't do it -- might they be too intimidated now to come forward for fear of being arrested too!

regardless ---- there is still the chance these boys were guilty of other recent crimes involving the found gun -- but not this one.

it will be very interesting to learn if the bullit matches the gun.

Anonymous said...

sherry wants her insurance cash and she knows if the bulllits made her handicapped she gets more. I believe this is why she is talking about why she can't remove the bullit. as much as it sounds like motive, or an excuse to hide evidence -- it may also simply be a practical reality that she wants the money she could now have coming to her. - just her real world desire after the fact.

her language sounds guilty -- but the evidence indeed seems to back up her story. for entertainments sake i'm still hoping for another dramatic twist -- but here's hoping.

SAlurker said...

James Brooks has some very interesting bail conditions:

Brooks have no contact with any witness or potential witness in the Antonio Santiago murder investigation.

Brooks have no contact with any member of law enforcement who is connected to or involved with the Antonio Santiago murder investigation.

Brooks refrain from entering any building where the Brunswick Police Department maintains an office unless he is specifically invited to said office for the purpose of conducting official city of Brunswick business.

Brooks refrain from giving legal advice or otherwise acting as an attorney at law to defendants potential defendants Witnesses and or potential witnesses in the Antonio Santiago murder investigation.

Brooks obey all of a commands of any member of law enforcement who is connected to or involved in the Antonio Santiago murder investigation.

Brooks turn himself into the sheriff of Camden County by 12 p.m. April 1, 2013.

Apple said...

I refer how Georgia handles their baby murder cases- arrest anyone involved in any way- over how Maine is doing it.

Tania Cadogan said...

Regarding the bullet in the mom's leg.

It is evidence and once removed would be analysed by the lab to identify it's calibre, which gun it came from, if it was the same gun that killed Baby Antonio, if it was a different calibre or it didn't match with the bullet retrieved from her baby it then casts doubt on her story big time.
If there was only one gun then it should match, if it doesn't then who shot her, how was she shot and when.

I can see no reason as to why they cannot remove the bullet given where it is as it isn't near anything vital.
I wonder if she is refusing to have it removed because it is incriminating?
As it stands leaving it where it is can cause damage and infection as it will travel ( as do microchips) there is a risk that at some point it could work it's way into a blood vessel and then perhaps the heart lungs or even brain.
Surgery is pretty advanced these days and there are very few places where a surgeon will say we can't operate due to the risk od serious injury (ie the spinal cord, heart)

The mother is sending up numerous red flags and shows distance between herself and Baby Antonio which is unexpected.
Given her criminal history, is this an insurance scam? in which case she isn't the first nor the last, was it a deal gone wrong?, does she owe drug money?

I would suggest they polygraph the mom just to see why there are so many sensitive areas and red flags.

SAlurker said...

I thought the same thing about the bullet Hobnob.

Although I've swayed back & forth so much with this case...who knows what my opinion will be next.

I also hope they polygraph her.
Although I do have a question about that. If a person taking a polygraph has significant mental disabilities - would the polygraph be accurate???

I am curious because I'm wondering if SW took a polygraph - would it be reliable?

Sus said...

http://m.news4jax.com/news/Police-Bullet-to-be-tested-with-gun-in-child-s-killing/-/16626108/19505106/-/5ps2ly/-/index.html

This article gives more info on the bullet and has a statement from the 14 year old's attorney.

Anonymous said...

I have come to think she is not guilty of this crime.

she has a weird emotionally distant personality. & she wants her insurance check asap. but it is not proof of guilt to want to proffit from a loss.

it must be statistically possible for a person like this and with these priorities to be the victim of a random crime.

this is an interesting allowance to consider.

Devrie said...

Could they x-ray her leg to examine the bullet?

Anonymous said...

wow evidence is piled high against those boys. the younger boy is said to have been present but not know the boy who did it, according to the lawyer. that's pretty shut and dry that sherry's story is accurate.

Amazing that sherry sounded so guilty and yet she is innocent. quite a lesson learned.

Devrie said...

Lang's attorney says he was a witness:

"She said Lang did see the crime take place, but had nothing to do with it, despite what many people have said. She would not go into detail, just said he was only an eyewitness."

Devrie said...

Oops, forgot the link:

http://m.news4jax.com/news/Police-Bullet-to-be-tested-with-gun-in-child-s-killing/-/16626108/19505106/-/5ps2ly/-/index.html

So...what did he see, then?

Sus said...

The Bleat "So...what did he see, then?"

There is a thing called an indictment that spells out the charges. That is what he saw. Oh my.

Tania Cadogan said...

Hi The Bleat

They could, however they wouldn't be able to check the rifling marks ( the marks on the bullet caused when the gun is fired and trasvels through the barrel. Every gun will leave a unique mark both from the rifling as well as from where the cap was sruck.

They may be able to identify the calibre wjich could match with the calibre fired from the gun meaning it is a possible match, only by removing the bullet and comapring it with the bullet found and also bullets test fired could they say yep it was from the same gun, or no it's a diferent gun so why is the mom being deceptive?

Also if the mom has/had a gun and there is ammo in the house they could compare them to the ones fired.

Also there could be prints on the bullet from when they were loaded in. I am not sure off hand if fingerprints can be totally erased from a fired bullet since sweat is corrosive and can leave a mark on metal which can be found with the right equipment (it is literally burnt onto the metal)

The gun would be tested for prints on the grip, the trigger, the safety and any remaining bullets.

If there were 4 shots one in the baby on in her leg where are the 2 missing bullets?

SAlurker said...

According to SW....one that grazed her ear and one that hit the ground.

Vita said...

She West is story telling - her version does not match the eye witness of her with her son, the 911 caller as it unfolded-

The 911 caller, she says to the 911 op -she has him down, is giving him CPR, this before she falls apart, the caller, * she does not say, the mother is wheeling him away* as mother contends she wheeled him to a enclosure .. the 911 caller to be watching every move, of ..

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/2248076767001/0/Police-release-911-calls-in-bady-killing-part-3

Mothers version:
http://youtu.be/DdkY1nmMxfU

Is everything but the kitchen sink - I rolled him away, I did this, that and the other - in great detail. She though exclaims he must have been dead -prior, to her rolling him - it's all hogwash, her said. She knows CPR? or knows how to pinch off an airway?

This woman (West) grinds my every nerve - Mother the only victim - baby who? she is lying. She has something to do with this. A hit or a pay out upon the hit. This a collaboration of efforts. This baby created for her heir? her bank account. I have zero compassion for her, not sorry.

News Reporter who was covering the story, this in the evening of the actual shooting. He on the premises, he speaking with LE, he personally requested by WEST that she be interviewed.

http://www.fox30jax.com/content/topstories/story/Parents-of-slain-baby-speak-out/yPcOWudQNEOIx63SsTKDww.cspx

Makes one wonder if her Son- Shawn was a hired hit as well, she is Ma Barker, um E.Baker. :X
Her Daughter to offer her little tid bits, of estranged mother's mental health issues and LIP insurance policy upon her little brother - she to speak freely to reporters. TWO more RED Flags. Distance and irritation - each to represent within each other. Neither one is believable.

-I can say all the crap I want about her (SW), I will be damned if anyone else does ..coming down the pike.. Yes. Yes it's coming, from the estranged daughter, for sure. Alliances run deep, as does trouble.

Jen said...

These boys being the perpetrators DOES NOT remove the possibility that this altercation was pre-arranged. I don't think any of us have questioned that the boys are the shooters from the beginning.

However, I feel like the odds are astronomical (along the same lines as baby Ayla) that a mentally ill, disability supported, drug abuser would expend her meager income on a life insurance policy AGAINST her 13mo baby...and then that same baby would become the victim of a RANDOM baby shooting! (after which the mother 'disposes' of his body and talks about insurance payouts, even discussing how long the payout will take the very night of her baby's murder).

I realize this is an emotionally charged case, but I've been surprised how quickly some are ready to accept the idea that West is not somehow involved. Her language shows multiple red flags and examples of the principles we seek to apply in every other case. West begins her account with sensitivity (a lot like BJD)...explaining WHY she was out walking, and it goes downhill fast from there. West's statements seem to show guilty knowledge and ALOT of sensitivity by way of explaining, etc...but, the father also says some goofy stuff. Should we excuse his sensitivity due to a language issue, and her's due to 'mental' issues...or should we apply the principles of SA like we would to any other subject? (I'm really asking, are we spinning our wheels or can we learn anything from their language? I don't see West as hallucenogenic or incoherent, she has maintained composure and re-told her account multiple times).

From the statement of one of the LE officers (Doering) it doesn't seem like they are even aware of what's right under their nose, they are too busy focusing on their beef with the 'mayor', and his non-sense. But, it's not like a lack of action on the part of LE negates SA, and a subjects guilt/ responsibility...we see it everyday! Hailey, DiPeitro, Cummings, Celis, JonBenet, and on they go...

(I bet the insurance investigators wont fail to investigate West, even if local LE does!)

Jen said...

Agree Vita-

This woman grinds on my every nerve as well...I find myself cringing as I listen to her talk. She screams guilt in my opinion, even before her daughter spoke of a LIP. She (West) brought up insurance payouts twice in her interview and her focus even in telling of the deadly encounter is money. I'm baffled by LE not investigating the mother/father, despite their bizarre statements and behavior.

Sadly, it seems that once they found out that Elkins and his family were involved they put the blinders on. (the entire family has lengthy criminal records and is obviously well know to local LE). Like I said, I'm sure the insurance investigators wont be so quick to dismiss the 'coincidence'.

BostonLady said...

This is a crazy case. I agree. I get a weird vibe from the mother of Antonio. I don't know if it is because she is mentally ill, with schitzophrenia and/or bipolar but her affect is way off. And if it is true that she asked her daughter about the life insurance policy and when it would pay out, I hope they investigate this thoroughly.

I just keep thinking of that poor little boy in the stroller. Who shoots an innocent baby to death? Horrific.

Devrie said...

Has LE straight out said that SW is not being investigated? I remember someone saying she was never in his mind...but that doesn't mean they aren't investigating.

They know who disposed of the gun, where and when. That's all they say they know.

They tell us they don't know where the gun came from.

They've told us they've found more evidence than the bullets.

They've also told us they are very concerned about the safety of the witnesses.

Antonio was sleeping at 9 am, which is kind of early for a nap.

Baby's father used language such as "I peeked in the window," and "It happened right behind my door."

What if Elkin's family is arrested for lying, but because they knew exactly what was going down--not necessarily because Elkins shot a sleeping Antonio.

Sherry West says she wheeled her baby to a safe enclosure, but as Vita notes, that doesn't jive with 911 callers--she was still there with the baby. We saw pictures of a stroller that doesn't seem to have been wheeled anywhere.

We note sensitivity with CPR. Sherry also makes sure to say, "He must have died instantly," then mentions his lungs inflating from her CPR. Again illustrating that she was putting air into him to ensure his survival.

The father is full of alibis and has a "funny" anecdote about how his neighbor called to talk about a baby being killed by where they live and how it couldn't be his baby.

The father also made connections between stories he's seen on television AND his child playing there when he watched that. He says he was glad he wasn't a statistic. Who thinks that? Most people can't really even utter those words--and the father kind of mentions his blue eyes a lot--is there a sensitivity there? He mentioned Antonios blue eyes on two different accounts.

Finally...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090512133220AA1B95X

Four years ago, Ashley Glassey wrote this:

"see my mom was an alcoholic and she beat me and my older brother bad when we were children she lost custody when we were 10 and then she moved away the courts ordered that we have no contact with her but once we were old enough to make our own decisions we began keeping in touch once a month or so,"



Sus said...

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/306335/483/Teens-to-be-tried-as-adults-in-toddlers-murder

Doering said there is "no question" armed burglary was the motive for the crime.

Anonymous said...

can anybody post the links to information that show inconsistencies between West's story and witness accounts? is there really an image of te stroller?

this case is such a twisted plot.

what have we got now -- mounting evidence that these two boys were in fact there and one of them likely did the shooting and then passed off the gun to his mother and stsier who hid it -- probably. hard evidence for this coming soon apparently.

and a mother who SOUNDS guilty, overtells her story, has a history of serious child abuse and aims to proffit through victims restitution/insurance - more than doubly because the voilence also crippled her. - meaning a row of all cherries for her and that insurance check.

and a father with an overemphasized alibi and who "heard" of a case just like this days before it happened to him too. which lets face it -- sounds like he was inspired.

what does this add up to????? if it were a movie -- the parents set the boys up & their whole family somehow - - got them to do the murder for them. in real life???? i dunno.....

Devrie said...

Anonymous,

I have to retract what I said. What I thought was the stroller was not a stroller. I'd make a horrible witness.

There is in fact a picture of a stroller behind a gated area just as Sherry West described:

http://www.komonews.com/news/national/1-year-old-boy-shot-dead-in-stroller-199523301.html

I had that image confused in my mind with this one:

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/national/sherry-west-antonio-west-brunswick-georgia-mom-says-two-kids-shot-and-killed-her-baby-over-money

Anonymous said...

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Pastor-says-he-was-shot-by-alleged-baby-killer/A7P-CIs2xUaphlEv9VByRA.cspx

the man the 17yr old shot in the arm recently speaks out.

shooting adults in places where they will surely recover from, like an arm and a leg is a lot different from shooting a sleeping baby in the face.

Anonymous said...

Bleat - thanks :) it's easy to get caught up!!

Anonymous said...

If i was the lawyer for those boys I would say Sherry west blackmailed them, threatened to turn them in for the other shooting if they didn't do her shooting just as she said.

It may not be what really happened but from a distance it sure looks plausable.

Anonymous said...

west comes off as very unsophisticated but those boys and their family are clearly even less sophisticated. the cops knew the mother's alibi for her son was a lie because she was in jail at the time of the shooting! i'd say -- it's stands to possability that those boys could have been manipulated by west.

Anonymous said...

The baby's mother may not be sophisticated or intelligent. She may have said things (or not said things)some find an issue with, or not reacted in a way others feel she should have and she may have never qualified for any Mom of the Year award. However, after all the info that's been released so far, I personally can't believe anyone, with the exception of the suspects friends or family, would still be trying to suggest she may have somehow manipulated these monsters into killing her baby.

It honestly disturbs me. JMO.

Anonymous said...

I do believe that stranger things have happened. It's also kind of cliche that somebody shoots themselves in the leg to make it look like they are a victim too when somebody right next to them is murdered - and they are involved.

but it may indeed not be the case for her, and if it's not then yes it's a horrible thing to say. & then I'm saying someting horrible. but it seems to me this is just the forum to throw such possibly innapropriate ideas around. -- and for somebody else to say they totally disagree :)

what feels so unresolved for me is motive -- I'm baffled because I don't understand the boy's motive for killing the baby. it did not help them in their robbery.

Jen said...

"There are two tragedies here: The first is the loss of this innocent child," Doering said. "The second is that so many people had information about this case who could have helped solve this case much earlier ... "

-Umm, how much earlier could this case have been 'solved', they had the boys in custody within 24hrs?

-As always the comments by LE hint at something larger, yet they claim they believe the crime was random and the motive was robbery. Something isn't adding up, even the comments by LE are contradictory...saying things like, 'the truth will come out at the appropriate time', (paraphrased) and comments like the one above that 'so many people' knew about this, discount the idea that it was simply a 'random' robbery. LE repeatedly assures they are 'leaving no stone unturned', but then Doring says West was, 'never a suspect in his mind'...(doesn't sound like overturning every stone to me, lol).

Even 'random' crimes have a motive. What would be the motive for these teens to 'randomly' target this woman, what did they stand to gain? She's living off of disability benefits and doesn't appear to live an enviable lifestyle. If she even owned anything of value, she wouldn't likely have it with her while pushing a stroller down the street. This also leads me to wonder, why would West even be carrying her purse while going for a walk to mail a letter? You don't need your purse to carry a letter and change for a stamp, plus she said she knew the area wasn't safe, so why carry a purse to be targeted?

Jen said...

I keep thinking, how much more bizarre could this story get? So far according to LE, we have:

-Two 'gangster' teens 'randomly' target the disability collecting, neighborhood loon, pushing a baby in a stroller for 'robbery'. They killed her baby, but left her alive to ID them, and then they went home and let the whole family (mom, aunt, sis) in on the story. They get them to participate as 'accessory after the fact' by hiding the gun and providing alibi's {although apparently one family member actually tipped off the cops}. Multiple family members get arrested... but for some reason LE fears for the safety of the 'witnesses', and arrests the 'mayor' for advising the family and 'obstructing justice'. 

If that wasn't bizarre enough, we have West...the 'mother/victim': (not sure that she qualifies as either)

-The mother claims she was also injured in the attack, although she says in one interview that the police had to point it out to her, and in another she describes how it DIDN'T feel, and what she DIDN'T think when it happened. Also, although she lives off of disability and talks about her lack of money...she apparently, just happens to have a life insurance policy AGAINST her 13mo baby. She gives multiple interviews hours after leaving the hospital, where she refused surgery to remove the bullet from her leg...and of course hours after her baby was shot in the face right in front of her. However, you wouldn't know it by looking at her, she can't even squeeze out a single tear as she utters the ONE sentence she dedicates to her baby's shooting.

In her interviews she discusses other insurance payouts, WHY she was out walking, where she was when confronted, the 'conversation' about baby expenses she had with her robber and would-be murderer, the fact that she DIDN'T think the gun was real, because while she was being SHOT AT she noticed the gun wasn't releasing casings, and how she DIDN'T feel 'it' when she was shot {'it' went numb}. She talks about her superficial injuries, and being shoved {either while trying to shield her baby or trying to keep her purse, she's said two different things}..and of course, she doesn't forget to mention that she was doped up when the shooting occurred, that her other son was also murderer, and the fact that she hates drugs and evicted a neighbor for 'smoking crack' in her house (although she has multiple arrests for drugs, trafficking and manufacturing). You know, all of the foremost things on any mother's mind after 'randomly' being attacked, and watching their baby murdered.

I'd like to know what the treating physician had to say about the potential of removing the bullet, as it doesn't appear to be a sensitive area. These teens are going to be prosecuted for shooting West and baby Antonio, so they better remove the bullet for evidence comparison, or be ready for an acquittal, based on this issue and many others. It would be tragic for this crime to go unpunished, so LE better sew this up now and get all the questions answered. As another poster mentioned, all the defense has to do is elude to the mothers involvement and point out all the discrepancies in her story, and they could easily walk.

If this was a movie I would have already turned it off and walked away because it is too far fetched, and ridiculous. Yet, I believe the biggest plot twist has yet to be revealed!

Juliette said...

Jen, I agree when statement analysis is applied to SW and her husband, the picture is off. I feel there is more to their involvement, more to this case. I read alibi-building and contradictions in their statements.

Thank you for these comments you've been making, you've made your points clearly and stuck to statement analysis to back what you say. This is an interesting case.

R.I.P. baby Antonio xo

dadgum said...

Jen..I agree avout the leg wound. It appears to be in her upper thigh. A fleshy and muscular area. Unless the bullet is located near her hip or knee..what damage would result?

Personally, I think there may be thought of increased disability (there won't be a suit against the perps, nothing to gain from a kid in jail, and probably never will be).

My guess is she is already considered totally disabled due to multiple conditions. You can't be 'more totally disabled'. One check for your back and neck, one for ptsd, one for mental health/substance abuse, and one for a gunshot. Perhaps different services, but total is just that.

CarlaP said...

I'm unclear why the police have been making contradictory statements about this case....first they were leaving no stone unturned in the investigation, then they caught the suspects and said they believe it was a random crime, then the statement that they don't have any evidence that it was anything other than random, then they say yes, definitely random no question about it, then after the suspects were indicted on murder charges this: Doering on Wednesday still refused to answer the key question, whether West and the suspects know each other, saying it would harm the investigation. Why the definite statements about it being random if they refuse to comment on SW possibly knowing the suspects before the crime....it would jeopardize the investigation? Why make any definitive statements at all then? And this statement really makes you wonder...Doering closed the news conference saying, "We have and will continue to get the truth, and that truth will come to light at the proper time." Why aren't they waiting until a full investigation is completed? He seems to be implying that there is evidence that SW possibly knew the suspects, and they are building a case against her as well....or am I totally misinterpreting that?

Vita said...

Jen, thank you for your posts.

I am paraphrasing West, her said of the morning. She never goes outside, she does not go anywhere, her normal is ? She to say, she doesn't get out enough. She that am, should go for a walk. Second breath I always walk Ellis(sic) Street. She to say in account, that she waited to leave that AM, that she said she waited until "no one was around, that she would not get in anyone's way". I have to find it.

She on P Morgan show, gives her account, her quoted. *I was walking home from the post office from mailing a letter and I was 5 minutes from my home. I was approached by a young man and some other boy that was hiding behind him, and he yelled at me, give me your money, and I proceeded to tell him that I don’t have any. And he shot — pulled out a gun and shot at the ground.

And I didn’t see any shells, so I thought the gun was a cap gun or a bee-bee gun. I thought he was using a toy gun to scare me. Then he shot at my head and the bullet grazed my ear and the side of my head. And then he shot me in the leg. And I still thought that it was a fake gun. And you know, neighbors had BB guns, and it stung. I injured my leg moving furniture days before and I was on pain medicine, so I didn’t feel it. But I felt stinging. And then it got numb. And I didn’t realize, you know, that it was real. It didn’t look like a real gun. And apparently he kept asking me and I kept telling him I don’t have any.
---
Her neighbor has shot her before with a BB gun? or she borrowed their BB gun and shot herself, the wee hours of that AM? as she says she was on pain meds, it stung.

The baby, she contends was asleep in the stroller. She to wait till no one was around, that she would not be in anyone's way, prior to leaving for her Walk. 9am, the incident. Was Antonio alive when she left her home? He 13 mos old, not an infant who wakes, feeds and sleeps, but 13 mos old. The constant of a fake gun, a BB gun, she to reference her neighbor having BB guns, no shells she to determine within the chaos. The first shot was shot, to hit the ground, I'd say that was a bad aim of one presumably in a shake down. The first hit to shoot the ground, who's to say she wasn't buying the gun from the little brother? he to be withing a set up, he to show up, as she said, she waited till no one was around. He to show her by her demanding him to shoot it, that it did indeed fire? *she again setting him up* or he was set up, by her cohorts - who are not yet named.

Part 2 coming.

Vita said...

BB Gun's are not what we once knew - as in a Daisy Rifle, nope, not any more. On the street, her strolling and she to meet up with who? her stories on YT, she says ONE boy, her story to change over and over. What if it was She the Perp, he (who is) to be blindsided. She pulled him out of photos- Her quoted: West said detectives showed her mugshots of about 24 young men. She pointed to one, saying he looked like the gunman.

“After I picked him, they said they had him in custody,” West said. “It looked just like him. So I think we got our man.”

Scenario not said, but possible, she to set up a buy of a gun. The first shot, to be to the ground. Her to grab him, an altercation, in seconds, she to point his hands (he holding the gun) at the baby, who was asleep and already dead, strapped in, " by her own hands".

The gun to be in his hands, baby is shot first, her leg she had already done the deed to, her own doing. This why she won't allow the Doc's to remove the " bullet" " BB". Her thigh wound to be blue and reddened, a perfect hole, no tissue damage. She doped up, used what? to soften the hit, as she shot own herself. The shots have been said to be 3, 4, heard by witnesses, that they did not see it go down. Gun to be fired after the Baby hit, fired into the air, or ground, the BB's to go air bound, not recovered. No casings - her words.

Her ear to be bruised, she calls grazed. Sister if your ear was grazed by a bullet there would be " flesh missing", looks more like she was pistol whipped, not shot at. Funny how the bruise is more so behind her ear, than her actual outer ear. Her ear to show deep purple, black that comes with time in healing, not onset of injury.
---
I have this gun:
http://youtu.be/HP8xqikrG1w

I did not purchase it. My ex did for his son, who was at the time 13. They thinking it was a toy? they chose to shoot it, within the basement of a family members house. NOT bright. They used a wood board, a circle drawn as the target. The BB's not only penetrated the board, it went 2 inches deep into cinder block, that was covered by panel. My ex's son standing around 17 feet shooting at the target. The gun left at my house, long story, it is now in my procession. I had a punk attempt to break into my house. He was caught on foot by LE. The arresting officer told me for my protection, I should go to a shooting range, learn about guns, buy a gun, for self protection.

I did not show him, but told him I had the Crosman, without knowledge how to operate it. As I do not. He said Ma'am it's a good thing you did not attempt to use it on the intruder, more than likely you would have shot yourself. He attempting to gain entry via my basement window, that if I had fired, missed, the ricochet, he speaking of. He to go on, upon our arrival, I know what they look like, Airguns, and we as officers cannot distinguish, where that is a BB or a real gun. If you have no knowledge of guns, it's not a gun itself you want to be in the hands of, in the midst of a 911 call. LE arriving, that they are not recognizable, which is real or other. This airgun has a red eye on it, it's heavy in your hands, it's so not a toy. It can be purchased easily by a Teen over 16. That it has blow back, was this what witnesses heard? the first shot to be to the ground, as I have heard this gun fired. It's reasonable to say, that in the midst of, would it be accurate of not, those who heard the shots fired, they would not know, if the gun was one alike this, or real.

Devrie said...

I think Vita is on to something, and I'm not so sure LE is not either.

They may have arrested the family because they lied originally, but also because they are witnesses whose safety concerns LE.

It's unfortunate that people could have helped them solve the case eariler--is he referring to the family of DE? I don't know that LE is discounting the oddities of the case that we all fear.

DeMarquise may have been up to no good to begin with, but not to shoot a baby. Lang may have actually simply been a witness that Sherry did not expect.

I think the way LE talks does not discount some possibility of involvement of the family of Antonio.

"She was never a suspect in my mind" is different than "She is not a suspect in my mind," or "She is not a suspect at this time."

Devrie said...

Whatever you do, don't look up BB gun wounds in Google images.

dadgum said...

lol Bleat..there's a lot best not to look up..

shmi said...

From what I recall about what she said to the kids with a gun. They asked her for money, and she says, "i don't have it". Like it is specific money she does not have. Otherwise, wouldn't she say "I don't have any money".

Anonymous said...

I don't find it hard at all to believe Elkins could have shot baby Antonio, all on his own free will. There are evil people in this world who do horrible things for absolutely no good reason, other than just felt like doing it at the time.

Just look at the images and posts from his FB. There's also the fact he has a mother and other family who would help him cover up the murder of an innocent baby.

Devrie said...

Most of us are divided in thought on this issue because there IS evil--and it isn't terribly difficult to think a kid with gang symbols on his FB page with a quote from a rap lyric that talks about turning a block into a murder scene could do something heinous...but...

The mother is very suspicious, and some of what she says seems contradictory to the scene. Not only are her words about "my baby," and her pointing to herself odd, but we've learned she's not the doting, suburban mom who just happened to be walking on the road this day.

On to the gang stuff: I've done some basic, generic research and found that most gang initiations involve the new member being beat up and/or "tagging" certain areas. They often involved beating up members of rival gang affiliations.

I've also learned that people that enter "gangs" aren't necessarily making a choice to seek them out, rather, entire schools become associated with gangs--that in certain neighborhoods, just going to a certain school in a certain neighborhood pretty much indoctrinates you to a certain gang affiliation.

The rap lyric quoted on DE's facebook page is referencing that sort of life. It's kind of eerie.

That said, it's not that we don't think DE could be involved...but we're looking at how mom and dad talk, and it's shooting up red flags all over the place.

You think this is the lyric DE was referencing on his page:
"Now what yall mean, niggas on my team, they all about the cream
And my enemies, we take it to extreme,to get the green
Nahmean, turn the block to a murder scene
and I be screaming whoa, in the drop with my nigga Wop
Runnin from the cop who was trying to meet that quota
I'm young and I'm black so they be thinking I'm slanging that baking soda
You ain't heard about, nigga from that dirty south, keep a boot in his mouth
bitch everybody yelling bout it, let 'em know what you bout
Before you leave your house, cause at night, nigga freaks come out
Get the gat with the extra clip cause if you catch us slippin
You might be the next to rip, get shot get stab you get cut up strip
you boxed up in a ship, thinking niggas on some retaliation tip
Then take a trip to the land
where them niggas do the murder man dance on the enemies
And fake niggas that pretend to be friends of me,
are the ??? nigga can't fuck with me
Won't buck with me the murda murda kill kill for scrilla
Cap pilla turned rap dealer chose the style
Your style, my style, our style
turn up the beat loud so we can all get wild"



Vita said...

Here's what doesn't add -what does add? not a helluva lot. The laundry list that doesn't add - to add to it,, This is a 17yr old male, who was picked out of a photo book, not to be picked out as he was present but he looka like the " perp" ..

BET my bottom dollar that Sherry West knows him, his family, and is acquaintance of the family by some how, some way, prior to. There is some connection, not yet admitted by West. (not publicly anyway)

His family members arrested for lying, “He was with us the whole time,” the aunt told The Associated Press on Saturday, and she said she gave police the same account of her nephew’s whereabouts. “There is no doubt in my mind that he is innocent.”
--
Reading on sites of locals who live in the Brunswick area, that there is racially defined boundaries, the community is segregated. That comments on this case, that no matter what color you are, there is fear when it comes to local law enforcement. I am repeating what I have read, not stating it as fact. Press: "That's definitely him," Sherry West said Saturday when she saw the jail mugshot of 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins, who is charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Police also arrested a 14-year-old who has not been identified because he's a minor.

Police announced the arrests of Elkins and the 14-year-old Friday afternoon. But Katrina Freeman, Elkins' aunt, said Saturday that he couldn't be the killer because the two were together at the time of the shooting. Freeman said Elkins dropped by her home about 8:15 a.m. — roughly an hour before the shooting — and she cooked them grits, eggs and sausage for breakfast.

They stayed at her home until about 11 a.m., Freeman said, and then Elkins accompanied her and her children on some errands for about an hour. After noon, he left for classes he's taking to earn his GED, she said.
--
Another presser He was not a photo in a mugshot book, but a photo line up? - Minors in a photo line up, not arrested yet or after or? this within what time frame? West picked him out of a photo line up?

Press: West identified Elkins as the shooter from a photo lineup. Dominique Lang, 15, is also charged.

PDF of Indictment, everyone arrested listed:
http://www.news4jax.com/blob/view/-/19494090/data/1/-/mveal3z/-/Indictment-of-5-in-killing-of-toddler.pdf?format=rsss_2.0

Within the indictment, charge 15, of 17 yr old, he is accused of shooting, attempting to rob a local pastor, on March 11th, video

Pastor speaks http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Pastor-says-he-was-shot-by-alleged-baby-killer/A7P-CIs2xUaphlEv9VByRA.cspx

The same gun? was he the day of the baby shooting, attempting to sell it? rid it? more twists and turns in this case, than can be kept up with.

Anon4themoment said...

What is strange about the Pastor being shot (and this is a loose connection) is that James Brooks (the city council member & mayor pro tem) is an associate pastor at a different church.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/306208/483/Mayor-Pro-Tem-arrested-in-connection-with-toddler-murder

http://gdcfbrunswick.org/churchstaff.html

This tidbit got me looking into the church.

This church has there hands into everything. All sorts of businesses. I'm not judging it - but it is interesting that a church would run many businesses along with a church.

From their web page in the "About Us" section:

"Our businesses such as our Greater Dimension Transportation Company, Greater Dimensions Car Spa, Greater Dimension U-Haul service, Greater Dimension Barbershop (cuts and styles), Cash and Drive (small loans and Title Pawn), and Greater Dimension Towing services, have offered people in our community a job."

With all these businesses how powerful are they in Brunswick, GA????






Devrie said...

I don't know, but Glynn County, Georgia looks like it's got all kinds of problems:

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-12-11/story/death-glynn-commissioner-tom-sublett-called-homicide

Who murdered the commissioner?

Anon4themoment said...

Something's wrong in that area!!!

They tried claiming his death was suicide. Although his hands were bound in front of him, he had a gunshot wound, but he died of drowning.

The family strongly felt he did not commit suicide.

*He was also a "church leader".

Anon4themoment said...

Another tie-in to the church.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/305399/483/Brunswick-pastor-apologizes-for-violence

"Adkins says he's lost sleep because the 17-year-old suspect Demarquis Elkins used to attend his church with a grandparent, but they left."

This is the same church James Brooks was an associate pastor at.

Anonymous said...

I'm starting to wonder if there's anyone left in Brunswick who was NOT involved in this case! Maybe the FBI needs to get involved, I am starting to think there's no way to trust anything we are hearing about this anymore. Stinks to high heaven.

Anonymous said...

This case is like a bunch of puzzle pieces that don't seem to be from the same puzzle and therefore won't fit together. I've got:

Kids who attempt an armed robbery but despite shooting 2 people and killing 1, they do not steal anything and they leave a witness alive.***

Mom who behaves as though nothing all that bad has happened. She doesn't shed a tear and and is more concerned about her own minor injuries that the horrific loss of her 1 year old child.

Mom's bizarre story, contradicting statements, and just flat out inexplicable quotes: "I didn't think he'd do it in broad daylight"; "all of a sudden he walked over and shot my baby"; "He must have died instantly because I screamed"; "he kept asking me for money and I kept saying I didn't have it".

Allegations that West asked about LIP the day of the shooting.

Dad is beyond weird and more than a little creepy. He's made as many contradictory statements as West and his quotes have a hefty dose of WTF also: "Let's get this done"; "they took him out" and others. The extended backstory about Wal-Mart, all the superfluous detail and his extremely nervous delivery, all very suspicious.

Even as the parents appear to be in on it, from what's been reported there's lots of evidence against the suspects. They do appear to have been involved and had a gun ("the" gun? has it been tested yet?) in their possession for which their relatives got arrested for disposing of. They don't look innocent but the puzzle is far from complete at this point.

*** I will be very curious to hear what the boy's defense will be and what they will disclose about their associations with West and Santiago. This looks like the best chance we have at being able to get the rest of the pieces. I hope they have something to say.

CarlaP said...

Anonymous, agreed. When asked if Sherry West knew the suspects prior to the murder, the police chief's answer was "no comment". I'm hoping there are more details this week.