A fatal shooting in Little Rock has claimed the dreams and hopes of a 19-year-old who according to his uncle envisioned to attend college and provide for his unborn child.
The teenager, who has been identified as Samuel Luke Gilmore had plans to move west and unleash his ambitious plans he had even picked out a community college in California, where he aspired to study business development starting early next year, said his uncle, Herm Gilmore III.
However, in July, those plans for college and fatherhood ended in a residential neighborhood off West 12th Street, where Samuel Gilmore, who also went by Chris, was fatally shot.
Police managed to arrest Davontay Dewayne Baker, in the killing, and accused him of trying to sell Gilmore's vehicle the day after the homicide.
Court documents have unveiled new details on about the shooting including some evidence against Baker. During the time of the shooting, Baker was 17-years-old, he is also accused of making a call from the victim's cellphone.
He now faces one count of capital murder and one count of aggravated robbery in the July 17 shooting. Baker has also been arrested in the stabbing of a man at a southwest Little Rock apartment complex in August.
The victim’s uncle, Herm Gilmore, revealed that the arrest does not bring closure to his relative's death.
"It doesn't bring my nephew back. You can't turn time around," he said.
However, before his death, everything seemed to be falling into place for the teenager, Herm Gilmore said. He described his nephew as a smart student who was determined to go to college and be a good father. Gilmore also revealed that he was the one to suggest his nephew move to Little Rock – an effort to divert the teenager away from a bad crowd that was in Houston.
"I take a lot of responsibility for the whole thing," he said, adding that he had paid for the vehicle the teenager was robbed of during the shooting.
The court documents also revealed that shortly after the fatal shooting, Samuel Gilmore's cellphone number led detectives to Siamone Walker. One of the phone number related to her account was the last phone number called on Gilmore's cellphone.
The affidavit also revealed that the woman told police the phone belonged to her husband and disclosed to authorities that, on the night of the killing, a person called her husband from an out-of-town phone number.
According to the documents, she revealed that she knew the caller as "Tae," who was later identified as Baker. During an interview with the authorities, Siamone Walker's husband, Tony Walker, said "Tae" had given him a call from Gilmore's cellphone the night of the killing. It turns out that the caller asked for a ride, but Tony Walker declined.
The police unveiled a photograph of Baker to Tony Walker, after which he identified the person in the picture as "Tae," the documents revealed. According to Gilmore's family members, the teenager left a residence on West 23rd Street around 9:30 p.m. July 17 and was driving his black 2007 Mercedes Benz. Then, around 11:20 p.m., police responded to a shooting in the area of 4800 W. 14 St., where they found Gilmore lying in the road with multiple gunshot wounds.
The affidavit also revealed that several witnesses at the scene told police that the victim had been talking with people in a white vehicle before the shots were fired. The court documents also revealed that a day after the killing, "Tae" came over to Tony Walker's residence on West Charles Bussey Avenue.
According to Walker, the teenager was trying to sell a black Mercedes and had a backpack and a cell phone. The affidavit also revealed that "Tae" said "he had gotten into it with some guys and his homeboy had shot someone in the face."
According to the affidavit, Gilmore had been shot in the face or head, but that information was not publicly disclosed in the immediate aftermath of the death. "Mr. Walker advised Tae told him that he and his homeboys had just hit a 'stang,' slang for theft," according to the affidavit.
The police also spoke with 27-year-old Demetrius Clark, who was also at the home on West Charles Bussey with Tony Walker the evening of July 18, the documents said. According to Clark, "Tae" called him the morning after the killing and tried to sell him a few items, which included a cellphone and a black Mercedes Benz.
"Tae" told Clark that he got the car, the cellphone and the other items the night before, according to the affidavit. Clark told police the vehicle "Tae" was trying to sell was the black Mercedes Benz driven by Gilmore, who he knew by the nickname "Vegas," the documents said. He told police the vehicle belonged to Gilmore.
During a separate incident, Baker faces one count of first-degree battery in connection with a stabbing at a southwest Little Rock apartment complex. The police were dispatched on Aug. 4 to 8723 Baseline Road, where they found the victim with multiple stab wounds in his back and left arm, along with a severe cut on his abdomen, authorities said.
Baker’s affidavit revealed that the victim had six stab wounds but was expected to make a full recovery. According to the victim, he revealed that he was standing outside his apartment when he felt sharp pains in his back and turned around to find "Day Day" hitting him.
The victim told the police authorities that he thought the stabbing was in retaliation to a previous incident, in which he intervened when he saw "Day Day" and another person harassing and pulling on a young female.
Source: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/dec/04/victim-s-cellphone-leaves-trail-for-pol/
