JTVCC Trial Day 4: Witnesses recount the hostage

WILMINGTON, Del. – Witnesses continue to testify Thursday for the trial surrounding the James T. Vaughn uprising, the prison takeover in 2017 including the murder of Lieutenant Steven Floyd.

Deric Forney, Dwayne Staats, Jarreau Ayers, and Roman Shankaras are the first four men up for trial facing murder and rioting charges.

On Thursday, things picked up with the defendants cross examining Patricia May, a counselor at JTVCC at the time who was also held hostage.

On that day, May says she was sitting in her office when someone came in with a knife without a mask. She couldn’t get a good look at his face since she was so focused on the knife. Outside she could hear a violent fight.

During the cross examination, Dwayne Staats admitted he was the one who came into May’s office. But he did get her to say that when he came into her office that there was no blood on his shirt, implying he was not involved in any of the fighting.

Another big moment came when Justin Tuxward, a maintenance worker came up to the stand. Tuxward was there the day of the riot with two others working in the basement when the hostage situation began and says when they went upstairs they saw Lt. Floyd in a closet covered in blood, screaming.

Tuxward testified they were threatened by an inmate with a knife but the inmate who threatened him was not any of the 18 men on trial.

Prior to the riot, Counselor May told the jury, her and other co-workers felt that C building was going to explode. During a meeting before the riot, she even said, “I’m afraid to get killed in this building.”

Court will resume Friday with more witnesses.