Wofford seeks new trial
Briones Ladon Wofford, who was found guilty of a Hardy Avenue shooting that killed one man and wounded another, appears in court Thursday to present his case for a new trial.
A Floyd County man who was sentenced to life without parole plus 25 years in May 2017 for opening fire at a Hardy Avenue party — killing one man and wounding another — appeared in court Thursday to seek a new trial.
Superior Court Judge Billy Sparks did not make a decision on the motion from 34-year-old Briones Ladon Wofford, but it is expected in the coming days.
According to information presented in court:
Karen Brouse, who represented Wofford in the hearing, said his former lawyer, James Wyatt, did not give “significant evidence” to support an alternate theory that Wofford had been robbed and there was a second gunman at the scene.
Police found three shell casings at the scene which matched Wofford’s 9mm pistol. That pistol was recovered from a woman who fled the scene with Wofford after the shooting.
Brouse attempted to show Wofford had acted in self-defense in the shooting that killed Jimmie Sellers Jr. and wounded Marvin Blackburn, after he had been “cold cocked” by Sellers and robbed during the party on Feb. 28, 2016. The gun went off — one bullet was fired into the air, one struck Blackburn in the head and the third hit Sellers above his left eye.
Also, Brouse claimed Thursday that Wyatt had failed to present the statements of at least two witnesses saying they had heard six shots, as well as not doing enough to explain the criminal history of witnesses as well as Sellers, who had a previous felony drug charge.
Assistant District Attorney Kevin Salmon asked Wyatt if he had painted Sellers as a criminal with a gang affiliation, then could that have “rubbed off” on Wofford in the eyes of the jury. Wyatt said it could have.
Salmon also said most of the previous charges against the witnesses, mostly misdemeanors, were not admissible.
“This motion for a new trial is really a lot of second-guessing the judge,” Salmon said.