CHARLOTTE — An accused killer testified Thursday in a Mecklenburg County courtroom and confessed to opening fire in north Charlotte, hitting and killing an innocent woman.
“I just turned around, grabbed the gun, stuck my arm out the window, and started shooting,” said the defendant, Adonis Smith.
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Smith told the jury he killed Kendal Crank but not intentionally.
He said he was supposed to be going to a video shoot that day when everything changed.
Smith told the jury he was in the passenger seat of a black SUV with two other guys along East 28th Street at North Tryon Street that day in March 2019.
He said he was on his phone when the car he was in took fire from two guys in a parking lot.
He said his friend in the backseat yelled that he was hit.
At that time, Smith said the driver pulled a gun from under his leg and placed it in the center console.
Smith said that’s when he turned to look at his injured friend.
“He’s grabbing his arm, and the whole time, the gunshots are still going off,” Smith said. “So, when I see the bullet hole in his arm, I just turn around, grab the gun, stick my arm out the window, and start shooting. Meanwhile, while I’m shooting, I’m kind of anticipating getting hit.”
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He continued, “So while I’m shooting, I’m trying to shoot and duck at the same time. While I was shooting, Marquis swerved the car around and went around all the cars that were in traffic, and we turned on North Tryon.”
Smith said he dropped the gun onto the floorboard and couldn’t remember how many times he pulled the trigger.
While the defense claims it was an act of self-defense, prosecutors hammered on Smith’s inconsistent statements to police and the fact that he claimed to have never owned or fired a gun before.
“So that’s your first instinct, never shot a gun before, grab a gun and just start shooting?” he was asked.
“Yeah, that was my first instinct,” Smith said.
“But you never touched a gun before?”
“No,” said Smith.
Prosecutors also raised questions about whether Smith was truly sorry or was just trying to get off.
“‘You were trying to kill somebody that day?” the prosecutor said.
“Yeah, because I didn’t want him to kill me,” Smith said.
“And you pulled the trigger?” the prosecutor asked.
“Shooting at him, yeah,’” Smith said.
“And you killed Kendal Crank?”
“I would say, I don’t know ... I don’t know.” Smith explained.
He told Crank’s family he apologizes for what happened.
Earlier in court, Crank’s mother took the stand and held back emotions.
She said she ran into her daughter at a hair salon before the shooting. It was a surprise and that her daughter was laughing and smiling about it.
“That’s when I asked her ‘Where are your children? and she said, ‘They’re at Dad’s house, and I’m going to pick them up when I get out of class,’” the mother said. “So, we parted, and I didn’t see her anymore after that.”
The jury also saw autopsy photos of Crank, as well as the bullet that hit her.
Prosecutors will continue their cross-examination with Smith.
WEB EXTRA VIDEO: Police interrogate deadly shooting suspect
During court on Thursday, prosecutors showed a video of a police interview that took place shortly after the shooting. Watch below:
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