BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Two men charged in the shooting death of a 2-year-old boy were in court Monday for a preliminary hearing, where multiple investigators testified and gave new information about what led up to their arrests.
Jaelyn Smith and Martavon Nelson are both facing felony murder charges in the death of Kai Turner.
Police believe that Smith, Nelson, and another young man took part in a drive-by shooting in the early morning hours of September 20, near the intersection of Cliff Street and Hwy Street.
They said at the time of the shooting that the 2-year-old was likely not the intended target of the shooting. A fact reiterated in court Monday.
The court heard testimony from multiple prosecution witnesses during the hearing, including the police officer who first attended to the injured 2-year-old.
"The female was continuously just saying 'my son is dying', and I didn't quite understand, just because she wasn’t making a lot of sense, that’s the only words she could really get out," Battle Creek Police Officer Madison Logseon recalled.
"I asked her to guide me where her son was... My first thought was okay he’s still alive. I moved the blanket to see what I was working with, that’s when I saw he was shot in the head."
Logseon said she had to take a month off from her job as a patrol officer because of the experience.
On Monday, a Battle Creek Police detective also took the stand to speak about how the investigation led them to Smith and Nelson.
Investigators were allegedly able to link a weapon known to belong to Nelson to another shooting, and then link that shooting to the one that happened on Cliff Street.
When Nelson was brought in for an initial police interview, he allegedly told the detective he was in the suspect vehicle when the shooting occurred, but did not participate.
"Mr. Nelson said when they got in front of the house, they realized he [the intended target] wasn’t outside, so they ended up shooting at the house. He told me that [the other young man believed to have been involved] was the driver of the vehicle, and was reaching across, shooting out the side of the passenger window, and that Jaelyn [Smith] had two firearms, and was shooting out the back passenger side window," the detective said on the stand.
Nelson initially claimed he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle— an assertion the detectives did not buy.
"Did he admit to having a firearm?," asked Calhoun County Prosecutor Dave Gilbert.
"He did not," the detective responded.
"Was there an issue with that?," Gilbert followed up.
"Yes... there was numerous shell casings, two separate 9MM shell casings in the street, also 40CAL shell casings in the street. Had the driver been shooting, the bullets would have ejected inside the vehicle."
The detective also claimed Monday that GPS cell phone data linked both Nelson and Smith to the area of the Cliff Street shooting within minutes of it happening.
He also said that Smith's phone showed him searching local media websites for 'cliff street shooting' just hours after it happened.
As the detective was finishing up his testimony, defense attorneys asked for a temporary adjournment, saying they were never given the evidence the detective was referencing.
The judge adjourned things for the time being, and the preliminary hearing will continue on another day.
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