GREENFIELD — A Pendleton man took the stand Tuesday as the state’s key witness in the murder of a McCordsville native, who was shot and killed last spring.
As Damian Coleman’s trial began in Hancock Circuit Court, Shawn Hammons of Pendleton took the stand for nearly four hours to tell the 12-member jury about the day he says Coleman robbed and murdered Shannon Kitchens, 55, of McCordsville, during a drug deal in March, while Coleman’s defense attorneys revealed they will work to prove Coleman was framed.
Investigators believe Kitchens was shot while trying to buy cocaine from Coleman, according to court documents. Kitchens’ body was left along a rural road in McCordsville after he died; a passerby discovered his body later that day.
Coleman faces two counts of murder in the slaying; a Level 3 felony count of attempt to commit robbery while armed; a Level 3 felony count of attempt to deal cocaine; and a Level 3 felony count of conspiracy to deal cocaine.
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Attorneys spent the first morning of Coleman’s trial whittling down a group of about 50 county resident to 12 jurors who will hear the proceedings, which are expected to last through this week and carry into the next.
Hammons, a friend of Kitchens’, recently accepted a plea deal in his case after he told police he was with Kitchens when he died; he also admitted to dumping the man’s body in the 3300 block of West County Road 500N.
Hammons told jurors he and Kitchens met Coleman on March 1 outside a Check ‘n Go in Lawrence, where Kitchens had just cashed a $14,000 disability check.
Hammons told police after Kitchens had cashed the check, he returned to Hammons’ car and sat into the front passenger seat while Coleman climbed in the backseat, court documents state.
Hammons said Coleman pulled a gun, there was a scuffle, and Kitchens was shot.
But Hammons’ lengthy story came only after Coleman’s defense attorney attempted to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of jurors.
Attorney Randy Sorrell of Fortville, who is representing Coleman, told jurors during his opening statement Tuesday that his client did meet Kitchens and Hammons in Lawrence, but they were both alive when they went their separate ways.
Sorrell also commented that a woman, who is expected to testify later in the trial, told police she saw Hammons and another white man standing along County Road 500N around the time police believe Kitchens was shot.
Hammons was the only witness to testify Tuesday. He detailed the events of March 1, saying watched the life leave Kitchens’ eyes and detailing how he left his friend’s body on the side of the road.
It was Kitchens, Hammons said, who threw the murder weapon from the car.
Hammons testified that, after Coleman pulled the gun and demanded Kitchens hand over his money, Kitchens grabbed the pistol in an attempt to protect himself. The shot was fired by Coleman, and Kitchens — an expression of shock spread across his face — flung the gun from the car.
“I watched him die,” Hammons said, he voice cracking. “He tensed up and died right in front of me.”
In a panic, Hammons sped away from the Check ‘n Go parking lot and toward Hancock County. High and afraid, he decided to dump Kitchens’ body. He stopped along an unfamiliar rural road and pulled his friend’s lifeless form through the passenger window — a decision he still regrets.
“I’ll live with that for the rest of my life,” he said. “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
