6 witnesses testify as trial starts in '10 fatal shooting

Until the voice of Michael Taylor III's father was played to a Lucas County Common Pleas Court jury Tuesday -- a voice that calmly and dejectedly told emergency dispatchers that his son was the shooter.

"It was my son," said Michael Taylor, Jr., after identifying himself to the dispatcher.

" … He ran off."

Michael Taylor III, 20, of 1366 Grand Ave., is charged with one count of murder with a gun specification. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Six witnesses testified Tuesday during the first day of testimony at Taylor's trial. Prior to the testimony, several 911 recordings were played from the night of April 24, 2010, when 20-year-old Darrin Smith was shot multiple times in front of his Grand Avenue home.

Assistant County Prosecutor Michael Bahner told jurors during opening statements that the altercation between the two neighbors began when Smith saw Taylor shooting a gun into the air. He said that Smith told Taylor to put the gun away because there were children around and called him a name.

"It's no secret that the inner city is dangerous," Mr. Bahner told jurors. " … Grand Avenue is such a place. And it's really dangerous when you disrespect Michael Taylor because this young man will not be disrespected on his own turf."

That "disrespect" led to multiple bullets being fired directly into Smith's body, some of the shots so close that gunpowder was found on his skin, Mr. Bahner said.

"Then he ran away, after he had just murdered Mr. Smith because he disrespected him," he said.

Attorney Meira Zucker acknowledged the tragedy that occurred on Grand Avenue that night, but she told jurors that the evidence did not prove Taylor pulled the trigger. Instead, she noted that it was a dark, rainy night and the street lights on Grand Avenue were not working, and that a gun and shell casings were never found.

Ms. Zucker asked jurors to assess the credibility and reliability of the witnesses.

"We are very mindful of a horrible thing that happened here," she said. "Michael did not kill Darrin Smith."

In addition to three Toledo police officers who testified about arriving on the scene of the shooting, three witnesses who were on Grand Avenue that night testified, including two who said they saw Taylor pull the trigger.

Dequane Roscoe, 20, testified that he was within feet of Smith when he was shot. Saying he was related to Smith, Roscoe said he knew of Taylor and so could identify him as the shooter.

"Do you have any doubt that it was Michael Taylor that shot and killed Darrin Smith?" Mr. Bahner questioned.

"Do I have any doubt? No," Roscoe responded.

A second witness also testified that she saw Taylor shoot Smith. But when questioned by the defense, the 16-year-old said she did not see anyone else close to where Smith had been shot, though Roscoe had testified prior that he was just feet away.

Additional witnesses are expected to testify when the trial resumes Wednesday before Judge Stacy Cook.

Contact Erica Blake at: eblake@theblade.com or 419-214-2134.