JTVCC Trial Day 2: Witnesses take the stand

WILMINGTON, Del. – Tuesday marks day two for the first round of inmates charged for the murder of Lieutenant Steven Floyd.

The James T. Vaughn prison riot trials resumed with the state presenting its case against Inmates Jarreau Ayers, Deric Forney, Roman Shankaras, and Dwayne Staats. All four of which stand accused of the murder of Lt. Steven Floyd rioting and kidnapping.

The biggest moment came when two correctional officers who had been taken hostage and locked in a closet together gave their testimony.

In front of completely silent courtroom, Winslow Smith and Joshua Wilkinson gave their traumatic accounts of how they could hear Lt. Floyd screaming in another room and how inmates would throw burning towels on them while they were locked in the closet. They also told the court of how that night they remember being attacked from behind by several masked men and hit multiple times. However to the defense’s benefit neither say they were able to able to identify the voices or faces of their attackers.

In the cross examination, Smith did say that him and Ayers haven’t had any problems and that he even recommended him for jobs. Wilkinson also admitted that Royal Downs is a big time player in the prison system, where many people follow him. If you don’t recall, Downs entered a guilty plea a few months back and is now working with the state as one of its key witnesses.

Both officers say they suffered physical injuries and PTSD. Neither of them have returned to work following the riot.

Another big thing to come out was the evidence presented by the state, which included shanks, mop wringers, and fire extinguishers that were used at the crime scene. The problem is though none of the evidence gave a DNA match because the state says the crime scene was flooded causing much of the DNA to wash off. Plus, they didn’t send in all the evidence for testing for possible money costs. The defense then took this to their advantage and asked why all the shanks weren’t sent in for testing.

As for Wednesday, the state is expected to continue to call up more witnesses to testify. This trial for the first group of inmates is set for the next two weeks.