Murphy – With the criminal trial entering its second week, a clearer picture is emerging into the May 10, 2016, slaying of local resident Kenneth Ryan Jones.
Bryan Vincent Crisp, 51, is accused of shooting Ryan in his head following a scuffle around lunchtime at a house at 29 Sunrise St.
Crisp fled the scene in his silver Volkswagen Beetle and was captured following a chase in Tennessee. He has been in custody ever since.
Crisp is charged with first-degree murder and faces a life sentence.
According to eyewitness testimony, Jones was avoiding law enforcement seeking to arrest him on a warrant, and police came close to capturing him the night before the slaying. Jones escaped after leading police on a chase that went through the Sunrise Street house where Crisp was living with his girlfriend.
Crisp was allegedly selling drugs from the house and reportedly had drugs, firearms and ammunition, which would explain why he would not want one of his customers leading police on a chase through his house.
Witnesses said Crisp told Jones to never come back, but the next day, Jones came knocking at Crisp’s door.
It is unknown why Jones returned to the Sunrise Street address, but witnesses said when he learned that Jones was on his porch, Crisp grabbed a pistol and confronted Jones at the front door.
An argument escalated into a fight and then gunfire, leaving Jones mortally wounded on the front porch.
Other visitors in the house, some of whom were called as witnesses although two have evaded subpoenas, fled the house in one car while Crisp fled in his own car.
Two of the witnesses called 911 – including Cody Roberts, Crisp’s cousin, and Shalees Greenlee. Greenlee made the first 911 call, sobbing to the dispatcher that there had been a shooting. Roberts called 911 about a half hour later, reportedly spending the intervening time hiding drugs he was carrying. In his call, he said he had just witnessed his best friend being shot to death.
Police arrived at the scene a few minutes after the first call. Jones was airlifted to a hospital in Tennessee, where he was pronounced dead.
About four hours after the shooting, police found Crisp driving a silver Volkswagen in Polk County, Tenn. Crisp was traveling at speeds up to 100 mph and allegedly was under the influence of drugs, according to law enforcement.
When he was arrested, Crisp allegedly had in his possession the firearm used in the shooting and a large amount of methamphetamine. There were several warrants out for his arrest.
It is unclear at this stage of the trial what other evidence and testimony reveals. A clearer picture will emerge as the trial progresses and as lawyers make their closing arguments, expected later this week.
Meanwhile, Judge Steven Warren has not yet ruled on a motion to dismiss the case by defense attorney Bill Jones because of the long period it has taken for the case to come to trial.
Crisp has been in custody at the county jail since his arrest in 2016, during which time he has had three lawyers and had several court dates postponed, including trial dates. Crisp’s health has declined during his long incarceration in a jail intended for short-term lockups, his lawyer said.
Some postponements were the result of new evidence presented to his lawyers just before trial dates, leaving the lawyers, including his latest attorney with insufficient time to sort through it. Other postponements were caused by COVID-19 quarantines, while more delays were caused by a short-staffed District Attorney’s Office and availability of witnesses, said assistant district attorney John Hindsman Jr., who is prosecuting the case.
Jones wondered how much witnesses will remember this long after the events on May 10, 2016. As if confirming his suspicions, when Cody Roberts testified, he didn’t remember making a 911 call.
Attorney Jones has complained about other issues in the conduct of the trial, including thumbnail pictures displayed to the jury on a large screen twice, clearly showing blood — pictures that had not been entered into evidence — and evidence bags with the word “murder” written on them.
Ryan Jones’ mother, father, grandmother and aunt have been attending the trial.