Humphrey is charged with murder, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. He is accused of killing 45-year-old Dontay Alston of Dayton, 48-year-old Michael A. Jackson of Dayton and 37-year-old Justin Wilson of Wilmington in November at a home on the 2600 block of North Gettysburg Avenue in Dayton.
Dayton police began the investigation into the shootings when a man used his dying breath to call for help.
The man called 911, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center records, and the dispatcher noted in the call log that the man “was barely coherent,” but confirmed he was one of the gunshot victims. He identified the shooter as a person called “Mont.” Within 51 seconds of making the call he was no longer responding to the dispatcher, 911 records show. Not long after that, the line went quiet.
When police arrived at the scene, they found three men shot dead, and an investigation led police to Humphrey, who was arrested and later indicted on the charges.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
However, defense attorney Lucas Wilder filed a motion saying that there’s a lack of evidence in the case. The motion references the 911 call and says that another person or two with a similar name may have been involved.
The defense also said inside the home where the three men were killed, there were “...two large indoor marijuana grow stations, several cell phones, hundreds of small printed baggies, a scale, large bags of marijuana, two guns and over $24,000 in cash.”
The defense said that a detective advised that police had an active drug investigation at the address.
The defense says Humphrey was either excluded or not the source of several DNA samples collected at the crime scene, that there are no eyewitnesses or video and “only one gun was allegedly used at the scene of the murders.”
“This gun expels .40 caliber ammunition. Humphrey did not allegedly own, possess or get caught with a type of gun which expels .40 caliber ammunition,” the motion says.
Also, the defense said that the doors were locked and officers had to force entry. No set of keys were found on Humphrey, the defense said.
The defense said the case should be dismissed because “there is insufficient evidence to support the indictment or prove Humphrey murdered three men beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Prosecutors filed a response asking the judge to overrule the motion.
“Defendant’s motion wholly fails to cite any basis in law or fact which would support legal dismissal of the case or the indictment,” the response says. Instead, he appears to merely argue conclusory statements that could be presented as defenses at trial. These conclusory statements are an insufficient basis for a motion to dismiss an indictment.”
“Defendant’s motion wholly fails to establish any legal basis for the dismissal of the indictment. Even if the Court considered Defendant’s arguments, it lacks the authority to dismiss this matter. Accordingly, the State requests that Defendant’s motion be overruled without a hearing.”
A scheduling conference has been set for February in the case.
About the Author
