When we last saw Simone Mitchell, a key witness in the murder trial of Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, we saw a frightened, shaking witness who told prosecutor Ryan Couzens that she was shaking and crying because she knew the defendants were from the Broderick Boys gang and was scared.
Ms. Mitchell then was asked by Mr. Couzens if she were under the influence of anything that day. She replied with a yes, “I had a couple beers and a joint ’cause I was nervous!”
Ms. Mitchell would be arrested and taken into custody. As she was led out of court in handcuffs, she yelled at Deputy DA Couzens that she did not understand why she had to stay in custody for the whole weekend. He explained to her their understanding was that she would be sober to testify.
Ms. Mitchell was not happy. As they took her away sobbing, she accused Mr. Couzens of lying to her, along with the investigators, using a few choice words.
On Monday, she entered the courtroom in her green jail-issue jumpsuit and in handcuffs and shackles, but when she took the stand, she was calm, collected, and very credible.
On the stand, she admitted to using drugs prior to testifying on Friday, as well as in the motel prior to the stabbing. She testified that she had used meth every day for a couple of years and had smoked it at least four times prior to the stabbing in September 2011.
This time, she was able to, in a clear and credible way, describe her actions that evening and what precipitated the fight that led to the stabbing.
She testified that she did not believe this was a gang-related fight. Instead, she argued that a fight erupted over the demand by Mr. Silva and Mr. Wolfington that everyone leave the room and the insistence by the victim in the case, Bobby Brittenum, that he not leave despite the urging of others.
Ms. Mitchell testified that there were about six people in the room drinking and smoking meth. She shared a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor, in addition to some marijuana and four hits of meth.
Mr. Silva and Mr. Wolfington, she testified, suddenly said that everyone had to leave the motel room, despite the fact that it was not their motel room. She said that she and others questioned that order, but that Carlitha Gordon insisted that everyone leave.
When Bobby Brittenum refused to leave, Ms. Mitchell said that Mr. Wolfington told him that they might not let him leave.
Prior to the fight commencing, she said she did not recall “B” (referring to Mr. Brittenum) being threatening in any way. She testified that Mr. Silva punched B “a couple times.” She called it a “sneak hit” and said it was a sucker punch. She said it was “twice at first.”
She said that they then began exchanging blows. “B” didn’t go to the ground. “They were fighting more,” she said. “They ended up fighting to the front door.” “B” was trying to escape the motel room.
It was at this point that Mr. Wolfington stepped in and began exchanging punches with Mr. Brittenum. Only his punches were not with his fist, but rather his knife. Each hit was a stab, Ms. Mitchell testified.
She saw what she believed was about 20 stabs. She testified that Mr. Silva was standing back and could not explain, nor did she see, when Mr. Silva was cut on the arm by the knife.
She described Mr. Wolfington using both hands in rapid fashion to stab Mr. Brittenum.
She said she yelled, “They’re killing him.” She rushed to try to help Mr. Brittenum, but Carlitha Wood held her back, an act that she believes saved her.
“I didn’t think this was gang related,” she testified. “I just thought they was fighting.”
Under cross-examination from Public Defender Ron Johnson, Ms. Mitchell testified that she felt that Carlitha Gordon was an instigator of the fight. She and Mr. Brittenum were yelling at each other, which produced a lot of tension. Ms. Gordon became louder, and frustrated that Mr. Brittenum refused to leave.
Ms. Mitchell said she tried to calm down Mr. Wolfington by hugging him. At first he hugged her back, but then he pushed her away.
She testified that Mr. Brittenum never said he wanted out of the fight.
We found out that Mr. Brittenum was a Crip, but he never stated it to Mr. Wolfington, and she testified there was no tension over it.
Instead, she testified that this was a fight over whether or not Mr. Brittenum had to leave the motel room.
She said that Mr. Wolfington at one point said he was “from Broderick,” but that he did not state that he was a “Broderick Boy.”
Under cross-examination from Danny Brace, who represents Shannon Silva, she testified that, while she saw a sucker punch thrown, she did not see what immediately proceeded it as she was turned away from Mr. Brittenum at that point in time.
She did say that he hit back when Mr. Silva hit him.
She testified that she did not recall seeing the injury, despite the fact that she had told the investigating officers previously that Mr. Silva had tried to intervene between the two and ended up getting stabbed himself.
This time she testified that that she did not see Mr. Silva get cut and did not think he was close enough to the stabbing to get cut.
Following her testimony, Judge Stephen Mock released her from custody and acknowledged that she was in far better condition to testify this time than she was on Friday.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
so it would seem despite claims to the contrary that drug use did help to foster some of the fear and reaction of the witness.