Experts: Wilson on her knees when shot

LIMA - A forensic pathologist and firearms expert each testified today Tarika Wilson must've been on her knees, complying with Sgt. Joe Chavalia's orders when he fired the fatal shots in January.

"It would seem to me the deceased was probably complying with Chavalia's orders," said John Foy, a firearms expert with the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, during the third day of Chavalia's trial.

The prosecution rested its case shortly before 3:30 p.m. today. Chavalia faces misdemeanor charges of negligent homicide and negligent assault for his actions during a January drug raid on 3rd Street. The defense will begin presenting its case after a brief recess.

Defense attorneys tried to discredit Foy's findings, but Foy said he remained confident in his findings.

Forensic pathologist Diane Barnett testified the angle of the bullets showed it started from the top of the body and angled downward, indicating the 26-year-old mother had to be leaning over or on her knees.

Foy said Wilson appeared to be following Chavalia's orders to get down at the time he shot. He said Chavalia didn't identify his target properly and didn't identify proper threats, such as what was in Wilson's hands.

Earlier in the day, the commander of Lima's SWAT team said Chavalia told him he thought someone shot at him first.

Lt. Chip Protsman, the commander of the SWAT team, testified first this morning.

Protsman said he worked the downstairs of the 3rd Street home to arrest the focus of the drug raid, Anthony Terry. He said after officers shot dogs in the downstairs, he heard another gunshot elsewhere in the house.

After officers handcuffed Terry, Protsman said he went upstairs and saw Chavalia alone in the middle of the hallway while other officers were in a bedroom with Tarika Wilson and her infant son, Sincere.

"I said, ‘Joe, what happened?'" Protsman recalled. "He said, ‘They were firing at me from the bedroom, and I shot back.'"

Protsman said he then went into the bedroom and saw Wilson appeared dead. When he walked out of the room, he said Chavalia grabbed him by the vest to talk to him.

Special Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh cut Protsman off before he could tell the jury what Chavalia said next.

Chris Sprouse, another SWAT officer, talked about heading upstairs when he heard an order to help. He said he grabbed Chavalia's leg to let him know he was there, but Chavalia took a moment to respond.

Sprouse said the behavior seemed consistent with someone who'd fired fatal shots.

Protsman, who took Chavalia's gun away from him and ordered him out of the house after talking to him, did say he felt sympathy for Chavalia.

"It occurred to me he had been through a highly stressful and emotional event," Protsman said.

Protsman also said Terry popped his head in and out of a doorway, and the SWAT team perceived him as a threat. Another officer testified Tuesday that Wilson's head popped in and out of the doorway in a similar fashion.

Karen Rebori, a Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation special agent, said Chavalia came prepared with an eight-page written statement when she interviewed him about the incident.

She said Chavalia agreed to answer questions after reading the entire statement. She said he told her he'd kept his gun on an automatic setting based on his preference after a previous incident.

Chavalia told her he didn't know if the light on his gun was on, but he saw a moving target popping in and out of the doorway, Rebori said.

Read more about this story in Thursday's The Lima News and later today on LimaOhio.com. This story was first posted at 10:30 a.m. and updated at 12:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.