The 21-year-old South Carolina man gunned down outside Columbus’ Wilson Homes apartments in 2021 was a member of the “Insane Crips” street gang that killed him, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.
That’s what prosecutor Thomas Kegley said as the murder trial of three alleged gangsters kicked off in Muscogee Superior Court.
Kegley said Samedi was shot dead during a mass gathering of gang members at the apartments complex, where 14 shots were fired at 9:47 p.m., June 5, 2021, and Samedi was left dying on the ground as everyone else fled.
Kegley said the shooting was the result of a dispute between two other gangsters, and jurors would hear testimony about gang culture and the dynamics that led to the homicide.
Samedi was armed, with a gun in his pocket, but never fired it, the prosecutor said. Police found other guns discarded around the crime scene, he said.
Slow start
The trial that’s expected to last two weeks got off to a slow start Thursday after three days of jury selection.
Attorneys first argued over what evidence the jury would see, including how prosecutors would identify Samedi, whether through photographs showing him alive or showing his body after he was shot in the head.