Defense attorney James Owen confers with former LPD patrolman Kelly Ricker about the details of a report Ricker had authored as one of the first law enforcement officers to enter Levels Lounge on the morning of a triple homicide there in 2020.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — Jurors in the trial of Deontray Forrest, the 27-year-old Lima man charged with murder in the shooting death of Timothy White outside Levels Lounge in downtown Lima, got a glimpse on Tuesday of the chaos inside the bar on the morning of Feb. 4, 2020 courtesy of body camera footage from law enforcement officers who were first on the scene.
Officers from the Lima Police Department and Allen County Sheriff’s Office responded to the bar at 122 E. North St. and found Terell McGraw, 28, and Devontae Upshaw, 24, dead inside the establishment. White’s body was found on a pathway leading from the bar to Main Street a short time later.
It is widely acknowledged that White shot and killed Upshaw and his own brother, McGraw, inside the front door of the bar just minutes before White himself was gunned down.
Columbus attorney James Owen, in his opening statements to jurors, admitted that Forrest shot White. The attorney said his client, fearing that a mass shooting had just occurred, acted within the boundaries of Ohio’s self-defense statutes when he shot and killed White.
Forrest is charged with two counts of murder, unclassified felonies, along with a second-degree felony charge of felonious assault that includes gang and firearm specifications.
A parade of law enforcement
Lima Police Department patrolwoman Kelsey Lutz kicked off Tuesday’s testimony by recounting what she saw as one of the first law enforcement officials to arrive at the shooting scene.
She testified that two Black males were lying on the floor near the front door of the bar. Both were bleeding heavily and one, she said, appeared to be deceased. The other subject was surrounded by people attempting to revive him with lifesaving efforts.
Lutz described the scene as chaotic, with several women “crying and screaming” and other patrons refusing to comply with police orders to vacate the building. Asked by Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell if she was able to conclude who shot the men inside the bar, the officer replied, “Yes, it was Tim White.”
Lutz also testified that Forrest was inside the bar at the time and spoke briefly with officers.
Lima Police Department Sgt. Shane Huber said a vehicle identified as one frequently driven by Forrest was located in the parking lot west of the bar during a search of the premises. It was impounded as a potential source of evidence, he said.
Former LPD patrolman Kelly Ricker, who was also among the first to enter the bar following the shooting, said police were actively questioning bar patrons in an attempt to learn what had happened. Ricker said one female said she saw who had shot Upshaw and McGraw but was “aggressively” shouted down by males inside the bar.
“The woman started to tell us who the shooter was when a guy says ‘shut the (expletive) up,’” Ricker said.
The former LPD officer said he then went outside the bar and located five shell casings next to the vehicle linked to Forrest. It was about that time, he said, when a deputy from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office found White’s body lying face down on a paved pathway between the CASA building and Alter Ego Comics.
Aaron Smith, an Allen County deputy at the time, testified that White was found deceased with a Glock handgun in his right hand. There were no bullets in the magazine or chamber of the weapon, he said. Spent shell casing were found at the end of the pathway closest to Levels, Smith said.
Ricker confirmed that five spent casings were located near the vehicle linked to Forrest.
Testimony in the trial is expected to continue throughout the week.
