Questioning in the murder trial of Marquinn Jones-Nelson ran long Thursday, with the judge extended the trial session by an hour so jurors could hear additional testimony from witnesses.
Jones-Nelson is on trial for the murder of Devante Jordan, a suspect in the 2009 death of 17-year-old Desirae Douglas who was himself shot to death in a Mountain View apartment during the winter of 2011.
On Thursday, jurors heard from a witness who was inside the apartment on March 24, 2011, the night Jordan was shot. They also heard from the former girlfriend of both the defendant, Jones-Nelson, and the man he accused of murdering.
Witness Katina Mitchell said while she was dating Jones-Nelson in early 2011, she drove him to an apartment in Mountain View the night Jordan was shot. Mitchell said she waited outside in a car while Jones-Nelson and another man went into the apartment to collect money -- and then she heard gunshots.
"Marquinn hops in the front and just tells me to drive and just says, 'Drive, drive, drive, drive,'" Mitchell testified. "So I just take off driving and I'm like, 'What happened, what happened,' you know? And then he just says that he killed Devante."
Mitchell said that she had been dating Jordan "on and off" for at least 6 years, but she wasn't talking to him at the time of the shooting.
While the prosecution says Jones-Nelson went to Jordan's apartment to kill him, defense attorney Jon-Marc Petersen said Jones-Nelson was forced to shoot Jordan in self-defense. Regina Jones, Jones-Nelson's mother, agrees and says her son isn't a violent man.
"I really don't think it's something he planned to set out and come and do," Jones said. "You know he doesn't do that, like I said he's not a violent character. He tries to -- and you heard it yourself in court -- he tries to diffuse it. He tries to talk his way out of a fight, he doesn't like to fight."
Jordan's mother and family declined a Channel 2 request for an on-camera interview.
The first man to take the witness stand Thursday, Deonte Wren, was continuing his testimony from Wednesday. Wren said he saw Jordan approach Jones-Nelson two times in the apartment with an upset demeanor, and that Jones-Nelson shot Jordan during the second approach. Wren said he didn't know where Jones-Nelson got the gun.
Mitchell's cross-examination was not completed Thursday. The case will pick up Tuesday when court resumes. The entire trial is expected to last until the first week of June.
Contact Mallory Peebles