1 IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT 2 OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI 4 5 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 6 ‘VERSUS No. 7 LOREN SHELL BLACKWELL DEFENDANT 8 9 ee TRANSCRIPT OF THE PROCEEDINGS HAD AND DONE IN THE 11 ABOVE-STYLED AND NUMBERED CAUSE BEFORE THE HONORABLE 2 MELVIN V. PRIESTER, SR., HINDS COUNTY JUDGE, ON THE 13 19TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2015. 4 ee 16 APPEARANCES | 7 Representing the State: WALTER BLECK, ESQ 18 Assistant Distric Attorney Represent the Defendant: 20 LYNN , ESQ. Assistant Public Defender 22 23 Reported By: Pearlie Westmoreland Official Court Reporter 24 Post Office Box 327 Jackson, Mississippi 39205TABLE OF CONTENTS style and Appearance. Table of Contents DETECTIVE ELLA THOMAS Direct Examination by Mr. Bleck.. Cross Examination by Ms. Watkins........... fae Ruling of the Court...... Hearing Concluded. Certificate of Court Reporter..Detective Ella Thomas ~ Direct THE COURT: State versus Loren Blackwell. DETECTIVE ELLA THOMAS, called as a witness on behalf of the State, having first been duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows, to-wit: DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. BLECK: Q, Please state your name for the record. A, Ella Thomas. Q. And, Ms. Thomas, how are you employed? A. dackson Police Department, robbery/homicide division. @. Have you got a case on Loren Shell Blackwell? A. Yes. Q. Is that a murder case? A. Yes. Q And an auto theft? A. Yes. Q. Did those two events happen at or about the same time? A. Yes. Q. What's that date? A. The date of the crime was August 31, 2015. Q. And where is the location of the crime, if10 1 12 13 15 a7 1a 19 20 21 Detective Ella Thomas - Direct you were able to ascertain that? A. t's 5600 Keele Street. Apartment 2101, 1 think. Let me make sure. It's Apartment 2102. @. Is that in the First Judicial District of Hinds County? A. Yes, sir. Who was killed? Mr. Lee Kendrick. And is it also his car that was taken? Yes. What kind of car was that? > OP OP Oo It was a silver Buick LeSabre. Q. When was it that the Jackson Police Department first started investigating this case? A. On September 3, 2015. ©. What is it that happened on that date that started the investigation? A. On September 3, 2015, myself along with other detectives were dispatched to 5600 Keele Street, Apartment 2102, in reference to a deceased subject inside the apartment. Once we arrived on scene, we noticed a white male that appeared to be shot in the head area was deceased on the floor. After canvassing the area, we made contact with an ll-year-old who was the first person10 L 2 13 14 16 uy 18 19 Detective Ella Thomas ~ Direct to see the deceased subject. He was outside throwing his football with a younger kid when his football went into the broken glass window. When he went inside to retrieve his football, he saw the deceased subject and went and got help. @. T assume the body was transported for an autopsy? A, ‘That's correct. Q. Do you have a manner and cause of death? A. Gunshot wound to the head. @. How were you able to establish what happened here? A. On September 3rd we got a tip froma witness that knew Ms. Blackwell as well as Mr. Kendrick. She knew that Mr. Kendrick was on the news as being missing, and then she also noticed that he was found dead. So she thought it was good that she would tell us that she saw Loren and two other black males in his vehicle at the Jubilee store either that Monday, which was the 3lst, or that Tuesday, which was September Ist, in his vehicle. She thought it was strange for them to be in his vehicle being that he never let anyone use his vehicle. She gave me a picture of Loren. She only10 an 12 43 14 15 16 ay 18 13 20 21 22 Detective Ella Thomas - Direct knew Loren as by Loren's nickname Babe. She knew the relationship between Loren and Mr. Kendrick because she rented a room to Loren, and Mr, Kendrick came and paid Ms. Lewis $150.00 per week for Loren to live there. She only rented the room for two weeks. The second week Loren had another black male inside her house. Ms. Lewis was upset about it, and she told Loren that she couldn't have different men in and out of her house. So Loren had Ms. Lewis to give her money back for the room, and she moved out. Mr. Kendrick would come over frequently looking for Loren. Mr. Kendrick also bought Loren a vehicle. Ms. Lewis took Loren to meet with Mr. Kendrick and the personal owner of the vehicle. He bought the vehicle, but Loren was upset because she wanted the $2,500 cash. So a couple of days later, she sold the vehicle and got the money for it. Q. Let's get to the time this happened, on or about August 31st. Did he have any money that he either acquired or that you know he acquired about. that time? A. Yes. After we posted Loren's picture on the news, she came in and talked to us. Loren stated that on Monday, August 3ist, Mr. Kendrick picked her10 11 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 2 22 23 24 25 Detective Ella Thomas ~ Direct up and took her to a hotel room at the Crown Motel, got her a room. He left her there to go to Clinton to pick up $1,600 from a client for a fence that he was supposed to be building. He came back and picked her up from the room. When he picked her up, he told her he had to go home and feed his wife because he normally fed his wife around 11:00. So he took her to Shorty's Food Mart and got her some chicken, and then took her over to Eastview and dropped her off. Mr. Kendrick came back. When he came back to Eastview and picked her up, he picked her and Walter Young up, and they were supposed to go to Woodside. At first Loren stated that she and Walter Young dropped him off on Woodside. That was the first time we talked with her. We stopped the interview, took a break because she had to use the restroom. We came back from the break. We resumed that interview, and she then stated that they were supposed to be meeting a black female on Woodside, her and Mr. Kendrick and Walter Young. She was setting him up to do a threesome with some female and Walter Young, but the female never showed up. Loren then stated that they went to an10 aL 12 13 14 1s 16 47 1s 19 21 22 24 25 Detective Ella Thomas - Direct apartment. She said she didn't know the name of the apartments. At first she said she thought they were at Sunset, and she continued to say they were at the Sunset Apartments until I told her that the Ges showed them being at Cedarstone. So she said she didn't really know where she was because she wasn't from Jackson. She said they went to the apartment, and the female was supposed to meet them over there. And once they got inside the apartment, the female never showed. Loren stated that since the female never showed, Mr. Kendrick wanted to measure Walter Young's penis as he had did her boyfriend, Mr. Shadarrine Lindsey, and also paid them to watch them have sex, and he videoed it. Also, Loren stated that she wasn't going to be involved with them in the threesome because Walter Young and Shadarrine were cousins, so she wasn't going to get involved in the threesome. So she stated she never went inside the bedroom. She stayed in the front part of the apartment. This is an abandoned apartment that they were in. At first Loren stated that she did not hear a gunshot, but she just saw Walter when he was running out of the room in a hurry to go. He tried10 11 12 13 4 1s 16 17 18 19 20 Detective Ella Thomas - Direct to give her the gun, and she refused to touch it, and they left. She said he put the gun in a white plastic bag, and they drove down Greenwood Avenue, and she tossed the bag with the gun out by a mattress. That was the first interview with Loren. Q. Let me ask you this. When you found the body, what was the condition of the body? A. Mr, Kendrick was nude. The only thing he had on were same white socks and a strap-on dildo. Q. And she said she didn't go in that room the first time? A. That's correct. Q. Did you have a test of that strap-on done for DNA? A. Yes. The condom that was on the strap-on, the DNA matched Loren. Her DNA was on the condom that was on the strap-on dildo. Q. Once you found this out, did you go back and try to talk to her again? A. No. After we posted her boyfriend's, Shadarrine Lindsey, picture on the news, somehow she got aware that he was wanted for questioning in this case. She contacted with Ms. Carrie with the hone she was living in and had Ms. Carrie to contact Commander Tyree Jones and said that she wanted to10 4z 13 15 16 47 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Detective Ella Thomas ~ Direct od give a statement and tell the truth as to what happened. So we escorted her back over to provide that statement. She pretty much stated everything, and then she added that she did hear the gunshot and that Shadarrine didn't have anything to do with it. She said she did see Mr. Kendrick lying on the floor with the gunshot wound te the head, and she said they left. She still stated that she threw the gun out on Greenwood Avenue. Q. Did she ever tell you what happened to that $1,600 from the fence? A. No. She stated she didn't know anything about -- well, she said they didn't take the money. She said that Walter took Mr. Kendrick's pants, and when they went to pick up Shadarrine over at some apartments off Highway 80 and Lynch, that Walter threw Mr. Kendrick's pants in a dumpster over there. And they picked up her boyfriend, Shadarrine, and that's when they went to the Jubilee store right there in the same area and purchased marijuana. And then they left and went to Franklin County, and that is when she was stopped and got a speeding ticket in Mr. Kendrick's car, and that's where she hid his car, in Franklin County.16 v7 18 19 20 21 22 1 Detective Ella Thomas ~ Direct ©. How did she get the keys to his car? A. After Mr. Kendrick was murdered, they took his vehicle from the scene. Q. But where were the keys that they got them? How did they get a hold of the keys to get the vehicle? A. They had to get them off Mr. Kendrick, I guess, out of his pants that they took. @. And she ended up with the vehicle? A. ‘That's correct. @. Was there any other money that you could confirm right before this that he had gotten? A. Yes. It was recorded at the Trustmark Bank in Pearl and also video of Mr. Kendrick withdrawing $120.00 from the bank. So we know for sure that he had $1,720 on him. Q. Did you find any of this at or near his body? No. Did you find any of it at all? No. Were you able to ever recover the gun? POP OD No. We went back. We took Ms, Blackwell. She went to show us exactly where she threw the gun out. We went and looked and canvassed the area, and19 aL 12 13 14 16 7 18 19 20 2a 22 23 24 Detective Elle Thomas ~ Direct we were not able to find a gun. She said if the gun was missing, Walter had to be the one to come back and remove the gun from that area. Q. Did you get a chance to talk to Walter? A. eo ©. What did he say? A. On September 8th Walter Young turned himself in to the Jackson Police Department. He was read his Miranda rights, in which he signed waiving it, and provided a statement. Young initially denied any knowledge of Mr. Kendrick's murder, and Young stated he was in south Jackson when Mr. Kendrick was murdered. I asked Young how did he know Mr. Kendrick was murdered. Then he kept repeating that he did not know anything about it. I asked him was he with Loren when she got the ticket. At first he said yes, he was, and then he changed and said he wasn't. Then he went on to say that Shadarrine and Loren were trying to frame him for murder. And that's pretty much all he said. Q. Was the medical examiner able to recover any of the bullet from his head? A. I don't have the full medical examiner's report at this time. Q. Was it just one shot?19 20 21 22 23 24 Detective Ella Thomas - Cross aa Yes. And all of this took place in Hinds County? Yes. First Judicial District? » Oo» OD Yes. MR. BLECK: I tender the witness. THE COURT: Cross. CROSS EXAMINATION BY MS. WATKINS: @. Detective, do me a favor. Would you read into the record the affidavit we just got this morning that was never provided to Ms. Blackwell or defense counsel? Would you please read the affidavit that you filed today in this case? A. The murder affidavit? 0. Yes, please. A. Based on information and belief, I, Detective Ella Thomas, make affidavit that Loren Danielle Shell Blackwell, Hinds County, in the First Uudicial District of Hinds County, did willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and malice afterthought kill and murder by shooting to death with a deadly weapon, a handgun, one Lee Kendtick, a human being. Q. Would you tell me what evidence you gave in your priox testimony, detective, that shows am evidence that she was the one who killed him? ee ee ee eeeDetective Ella Thomas ~ Cross aa A. At this time we don't have evidence.of which one pulled the trigger, only she saying that it was Walter Young that pulled the trigger. Q. So what other evidence do you have? A. She was there at the time of his murder, and it was proven that she was in the room at the time of the murder. Q. And that's how? A, Because her DNA was found on the condom on the dildo that was strapped to Mr. Kendrick's body, but she stated she never went in the room at all. Q.. Okay, But my question is the fact that her DNA‘ was on the condom that he had doesn't necessarily. mean she was _in the room -~ you can't tie —- I guess _ my question is can you tié the time her DNA went on that condom to his death? ©. Thank you. Regarding the auto theft, which car are you accusing her of stealing? A. Mr. Kendrick's car. Q. What car is that? A. The Buick LeSabre, the silver Buick LeSabre. @. I thought you testified that Ms. Lewis or someone, that he purchased that car for her, and she19 4 4z 13 14 4s 16 7 18 22 23 24 28 Detective Ella Thomas ~ Cross went and sold it? a. No, that's not what I said. He went and purchased her a car, and she sold it several days later. Q. What car was that? A, I'm not sure of what kind of car it was. We just know that he purchased her a car, and she sold it. @. And you got a tip from a witness who knew them both, Mr. Kendrick and Ms, Blackwell, and Kendrick paid for her to stay with this Ms. Lewis. Is that correct? A. That's correct. Q. Moving to that interview that you said Ms. Blackwell wanted, isn't it true that she repeatedly requested her attorney, and y'all refused to provide -- seven detectives and the Jackson Police Department. at 11:00 at night, and she repeatedly requested her counsel during one of the many interviews y'all had with her, Is that not true? A. That's not true. She stated that she was talking against her attorney's will. She said she talked to an attorney, and he told her not to talk to us, but she was talking to us against his will. She never once requested an attorney.10 11 12 13 16 rh 18 19 20 2a Detective Ella Thomas ~ Cross a Q. Are y'all going to stick with that? A, It is videod. It's audio and videod. Q. And it was never turned off from the time that she walked in until the time she walked out? A. As I stated earlier, the very first interview we talked with her, we took a break, and it was turned off. She had to use the restroom. When we came back, we resumed that interview. That is the only time it was turned off, when she wanted to use the restroom. Q. I'm talking about the interview that occurred late that night the following week, the one where you removed her from the Hinds County Detention Center? A. No, we only did one interview with her. We did not stop the interview and resume it. We only did that the first initial day, which was the 5th. MS, WATKINS: Nothing further at this time, Your Honor. THE COURT: Any redirect? MR. BLECK: No, Your Honor. THE COURT: Thank you, detective. You can step down. (WITNESS EXCUSED) THE COURT: Did you want to make a16 47 18 as 20 2a 22 23 25 Detective lla Thomas ~ Cross ay statement? MS. WATKINS: [ do, Your Honor. 1 have a request to dismiss this charge of murder. ‘There is absolutely no evidence that she pulled the trigger at any time to kill Lee Kendrick, She had a relationship with him. That's been clearly established. Tt does not establish muxder. The fact that her DNA was on a condom the dead man was wearing when he was found does not mean she shot him. She said they don't have any evidence that ties the time at all beyond the fact that Loren said she wasn't in the room where his body was found. We would respectfully request that the charge be dismissed on that basis because of the less than tenuous evidence they have to connect her to this. In the.alternative we would request, house arrest for her. She is 16 weeks pregnant. Medical sonograms have shown Bsesbet_ cael ase an that her baby is in a breech position. She is at 28 weeks. She is developin gestational diabetes with wild swings in.ql 12 14 45 16 17 18 19 20 Detective Ella Thomas ~ Cross 18 blood sugar. I don't think as a Hinds gar: -I.don't think as a,Hinds County taxpayer I want that on my tab. She county ‘taxpayer'T want, that'on my tabs She does have Mr. Shadarrine Lindsey's mother __ whom shé Gan go and stay, and they can fit Whom. shé..can go’ ar her with an ankle bracele So we would respectfully request dismissal of the murder chaxge. ‘The auto theft charge, we didn't hear much about that. We don't have a new affidavit on that, because the only thing we had before was the capital murder charge with auto theft as the underlying felony, which T think Your Honor knows is not an underlying felony to elevate a murder charge to capital. And respectfully house arrest, ankle bracelet monitoring. A woman who is 28 weeks pregnant with serious health problems is not likely to run. Thank you, Your Honor. MR. BLECK: Judge, the only person we can prove was there is her. The person we can prove was there is her, and the only way we've got -- he's there. He's shot in the head. Her DNA is there. She is the only person we can put there. She puts10 uu 12 13 14 16 uv 18 19 20 a 22 24 28 Ruling of the Court 19 other people there. Other people say she is framing them. She is the one person we've got in this, and she got away with the car. That's what we've got, Judge. THE COURT: Having heard the testimony t of the detective in this matter, the is quite concerned that the cetective — oe I see.no evidence that she was the murderer. ee Now, I understand this is a probable cause hearing, and the standard is low. But, nevertheless, there is a standard. And while I am not going to just simply dismiss this, I am going to ROR her to —- is it her parents? MS. WATKINS: Respectfully, Your Honor, it's the home of Shadarrine Lindsey, the father of her child. His mother has said she will take them in. Your Honor, we would request a nominal bond of $1,000, because if she is indicted, T don't want her taken without having a bond in place. THE COURT: Pond will be set atRuling of the Court 20 $1,000. She will be released to Shadarrine Lindsey and his mother. She will contact Probat: on Services Company and Dennis Grant within a week to report on house arrest. Obviously, she will be allowed to go to any medical appointments and things of that nature, but T want that ankle bracelet on within a week. MS. WATKINS: We will do so, Your Honor, and make sure she understands that. Thank you. THE COURT: So ordered. * * * HEARING CONCLUDED * * +10 qn 12 13 16 47 18 19 20 aL 22 23 24 28 State v. Blackwell ar COURT REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY OF HINDS I, Pearlie Westmoreland, Official Court Reporter for Hinds County Court, do hereby certify that the foregoing pages constitute a true and correct transcript of the proceedings had in this entitled and nurbered cause before the Honorable Melvin V. Priester, Jr., Hinds County Judge, on the 19th day of October 2015. I do further certify that my certificate annexed hereto applies only to the original and certified transcript. The undersigned assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any reproduced copies not made under my control or direction. Witness my signature, this the 20th day of October 2015. PEARLIE WESTMORELAND Official Court Reporter CSR NO. 1134