CHATTANOOGA, Tenn — Prosecutors focused on a white van they say was used in the 2016 killing of shooting witness Bianca Horton, as the trial of accused gang leader Andre Grier entered its third day in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
Investigators believe the van was part of a plan to kidnap and kill Horton to prevent her from testifying against another man, Cortez Sims, in a 2015 gang-related shooting that left her young daughter paralyzed. Grier is accused of organizing the plot as a leader of the Athens Park Bloods gang.
On the stand Thursday, a downtown property owner testified that a white van was parked outside one of his rental units around the time of Horton’s disappearance.
The man said the van remained there for several days before it was gone. Under questioning, he could not clearly connect the tenant or the property to Horton’s death.
Defense attorneys emphasized that uncertainty, arguing that the vehicle the witness described had a roof rack that may not match the van investigators linked to Grier…