HOUSTON – The trial for a suspect who was charged with the shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes began Tuesday.
The prosecutor’s opening statement started by explaining the morning LaPorsha Washington, Jazmine Barnes’ mom, and sisters went to get coffee.
The attorney said Washington pulled into the intersection of East Sam Houston Parkway feeder road near Wallisville Road when “their lives were about to change forever.”
Larry Demetricus Woodruffe, 27, was charged in January 2019 with capital murder after deputies said a tip led them to find corroborating evidence of his involvement in the shooting.
Investigators said Jazmine was shot in the head on the morning of Dec. 30, when someone opened fire on her family’s vehicle. Jazmine’s mother and three sisters were also inside the vehicle on the East Sam Houston Parkway feeder road near Wallisville Road. Jazmine’s mother was also injured in the incident, investigators said.
Woodruff denied he was involved and told police the only thing connecting him to the crime was a statement from Eric Black Jr., another suspect in the shooting.
Black was also charged with capital murder. Authorities said Black admitted to taking part in the shooting. He is currently out on bond, records say.
During opening statements, Woodruffe’s attorney claims the suspect was arrested after Harris County Sheriff’s Office were “pressured to bring answers to the case.”
The defense alleges Woodruffe’s cousin called him in to receive a $100,000 reward raised by attorney Lee Merrit and activist Shaun King. The attorney said this is when the investigation changed to focus on Woodruffe.
In court, prosecutors showed the jury stills from the Harris County Sheriff Offices’ body-worn camera. The stills include an image of Barnes’ body.
The first two witnesses to take the stand were HCSO Lt. Trevor Windsor, the first person to arrive on the scene, and someone with HCSO’s Crime Scene Unit recalling the moments they arrived on the scene.
Woodruffe’s criminal background
Court records show that Woodruffe has a lengthy criminal history, including being sentenced in January 2017 to two years in prison for assaulting a family member. That same year, he was released under mandatory supervision, and by November he was charged with being a felon in possession of a gun, documents said.
Court records show that he also pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a weapons case and was sentenced to nine months in county jail. When Woodruffe pleaded guilty in that case, he was two months shy of completing his sentence on the assault charge, records show.