The prosecutor told jurors the accused man was seen beating the victim to death in the parking lot of a club.
“They came out to see two men stomping on him,” Deputy Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt told jurors during opening statements in the trial of D’Angelo Walker.
Walker is on trial before Pima County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Lee, accused of second-degree murder in the Oct. 2012 death of James Braun.
Braun, 35, died after being stomped and beaten in the parking lot of a Disabled American Veterans club at 3455 S. Wilmot Road.
Diebolt said Braun was attacked outside the club after a fight that started inside spilled out into the parking lot.
He described for jurors Tuesday afternoon how friends of Braun’s, who went to club with him, saw two men stomping his head on the pavement. One of the men, Diebolt said, used the hood of a car to steady himself while he stomped the victim.
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Police located Walker and another man charged in the killing, Henry Gilchrist, shortly after the incident at a nearby gas station.
Police brought a witness to the gas station who identified the men as the assailants.
The witness, Barry Hopkins, testified on Wednesday that he saw the fight start inside the club, then saw the victim being assaulted outside.
Diebolt told jurors on Tuesday that DNA analysis of blood pointed to the defendant’s involvement.
“The victim’s blood was found on the bottom of the defendant’s shoes,” Diebolt said, noting there was little blood at the scene of the assault.
But defense attorney Jack Lansdale said Braun was the aggressor in the incident.
“They’re sitting there having their drinks when James Braun stumbles into them,” Lansdale said.
He said the defendant and Gilchrist decided to leave the insult alone because Braun appeared to be intoxicated.
Lansdale said several men in the club later charged at his client and Gilchrist, who were forced to defend themselves.
Once the fight calmed down and people began to leave, Lansdale said Braun again confronted Walker and Gilchrist in the parking lot.
“He immediately assumes James Braun had a weapon,” Lansdale said, describing Braun’s movements in the parking lot.
He told jurors a friend of Walker’s punched Braun and disarmed him, then took the gun and fled.
Lansdale also questioned the identification Hopkins and others made . He noted that a discarded shirt found in the parking lot that police thought belonged to Walker could not be connected to his client.
