PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The second day of the jury trial for a quadruple murder case in Portsmouth wrapped up on Wednesday. It all stems from a shooting at a Maple Avenue home that left four people dead in June 2022.
One of two men accused of committing the crime is on trial this week.
Defendant Raymond Gore, 58, could be seen in a brown suit flanked by his attorneys inside the circuit courtroom.
DAY 1 COVERAGE | Trial begins for suspect in deadly quadruple shooting in Portsmouth
The second day of the trial started with emotions running high, as prosecutors asked family members of the victims to identify their loved ones by referencing photos of when they were living and deceased.
The victims who died following the shooting were:
- 30-year-old Georgio Lee
- 34-year-old Ashley Merricks
- 37-year-old Oleisha Mears
- 66-year-old Samuel Jones
Jurors viewed graphic and uncensored police body-worn camera footage, as officers responded to a two-story home at the corner of Maple Avenue and Randolph Street on June 7, 2022.
The video played in court showed the bodies of Merricks at the bottom of the stairs, Mears inside a closet and Lee in a bed. Jones could be seen shot and bleeding at the top of the stairs, but still alive.
On the body cam video, an officer asked him a series of questions, which prompted Jones to identify the people responsible as two young Black males.
Jones later died.
By Wednesday afternoon, the jury heard from the prosecution's chief eyewitness Michael Canty.
He testified that, from a block away on the corner of Randolph Street and Lasalle Avenue, he saw Gore outside the Maple Avenue home, with Gore's nephew Antwann and another man.
Canty testified that he saw Gore knock on the door and shoot Merricks.
"I [saw Gore] shooting, then I took off running," Canty said on the stand.
During a line of questioning by the prosecution, it was mentioned that Canty had known Gore for about 10 years and that Canty would see Gore at a shop on George Washington Highway.
At the shop, a few days after the shooting, Canty testified he overheard a conversation in which Gore told someone he wasn't going to let anything happen to his family.
However, Canty could not provide the context for Gore's statement, nor the nature of the conversation Gore had with the other person at the shop.
The defense then cross-examined Canty, painting him as an unreliable witness.
On several occasions, Canty's testimony on the stand did not match statements he gave to detectives during two separate interviews conducted in August 2022.
For instance, the defense presented that Canty told detectives he saw Gore give a man a $100 bill outside the home prior to the shooting. However, on the stand Wednesday, Canty recalled Gore handing the man "something," not specifying it was a $100 bill.
Moreover, Canty could not consistently recall who he was hanging out with at the corner of Randolph Street and Lasalle Avenue on the morning of the shooting.
Similarly, Canty had a variety of differing answers for what kind of vehicle or vehicles he saw before the shots rang out.
The defense argued Canty only spoke up to authorities two months following the shooting after he got into trouble and sought bond in exchange for cooperation.
Also notably throughout the day, Gore's attorneys made multiple unsuccessful motions to the judge, including dismissal of charges for various reasons.
Those reasons pertained to what the defense described as a lack of information from police surrounding the case and an observation Canty was marched in by a team of deputies with beefed-up security inside the courtroom at the time of his testimony.
Furthermore, toward the end of the day and in an odd twist, Canty was seen using his cell phone on the stand.
He admitted to texting his sister after she had checked on him.
The judge asked for the phone. After this, the judge and all attorneys related to the case looked at the phone, but it was not made clear to the rest of the courtroom what the texts stated.
The jury trial picks back up on Thursday morning.
Gore's nephew Antwann Gore is also facing grand jury indictments in connection to this case.