UPDATE: Cell phone places alleged ‘hitman’ at scene during fatal shooting

Published 4:20 pm Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office detective Lt. Travis Lavergne testified Wednesday that cellphone data shows both Jermaine Washington and Karrington Henry were at the scene July 4, 2018, when Dorian Colston was fatally shot.

Lavergne, a member of the violent crimes division, said the data also shows multiple calls were made between Washington and Henry the day of the shooting and between Henry and Josiah Jackson.

Prosecutor Charles Robinson said Jackson hired Washington to kill Colston and Henry served as Washington’s driver.

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In a two-hour videotaped interview with Washington presented to jurors Wednesday, Lavergne tells Washington law enforcement has evidence placing him at the crime scene and corroborating witnesses.

“We’re trying to put pieces of a puzzle together,” Lavergne tells Washington in the video. “We’ve got Dorian in the hospital, where he later dies, and we’re working backwards and that leads to you and KeKe (Henry’s nickname).”

“Why would I want to kill him?” Washington replies. “He never did me nothing. It’s all rumors.”

“I understand you don’t want to talk about it … but we have all the evidence that puts you and ‘KeKe’ there,” Lavergne says.

“We didn’t have no beef; we just be chillin,’ ” Washington says.

Lavergne showed video surveillance footage to jurors from a DollarWise convenience store placing the trio — Washington, Colston and Henry — together the day of the shooting. On the video, Colston is seen buying two pairs of black gloves and two black bandannas. Washington remains in Colston’s vehicle while Colston is in the store. Henry parks alongside Colston’s vehicle and enters and leaves the store before Colston enters.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Kent Johnson, who works in the evidence division, testified Monday that a plastic bag containing a black bandanna and black gloves were found on the floorboard of the front passenger seat of Colston’s car.

Henry testified Tuesday that on the night of the shooting, Washington told Colston he needed his help to commit a robbery. The pair agreed to meet on U.S. 90 outside of the Iowa, La., city limits, Henry testified. Lavergne said the video surveillance of Colston buying gloves and bandanas corroborates Henry’s testimony.

Lavergne also showed jurors a videotaped interrogation of one of Tuesday’s unnamed witnesses who was a prior cell mate of Washington’s. In the video the witness says Washington told him he killed Colston.

“I heard it from Dutt (Washington’s nickname),” the witness says in the video. “He said, ‘They ain’t got no evidence. I killed somebody.’ I said, ‘Are you talking about Dorian?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Dorian. I killed Dorian. I’m a hitman and this ain’t my first murder.’ ”

The witness says Washington told him, “(Dorian Colston) was my best friend but money is everything.”

Lavergne said the witness was “able to name the crime scene location, the fact that another person was present and that Colston was shot in the chest.”

Lavergne said when Henry was arrested on July 11, he told detectives he dropped Washington off at a Super 8 hotel after the shooting. Video surveillance from the hotel was shown to jurors and Washington can be seen getting out of Henry’s car, checking into the hotel, getting back into Henry’s car to be brought to the back of the hotel, then entering the hotel again.

Most of the late afternoon and evening of July 3, 2018, Washington and Colston’s phones are located together, Lavergne said as he showed jurors a Google Map of cell phone tracking pings from the two phones. After Colston was shot, Washington’s phone moves in the opposite direction of Colston’s.

Lavergne said the tracking pings show after Colston’s shooting, Washington and Henry’s phone are together traveling on U.S. 90 toward Lake Charles then on Oplelousas Street, where the gun used in the shooting was discarded.

Lavergne told jurors that phone records of Barry Brooks, the accused middleman who allegedly put Washington and Jackson in touch with each other, show multiple calls to Jackson. Phone pings also show Brooks’ phone with Washington’s phone an hour after Colston was shot.

Brooks testified on Monday that the morning after the shooting Washington “popped up” at his house.

“I was sleeping and my girl woke me up and told me someone was outside standing in front of my car,” Brooks said. “It was Jermaine Washington. He had just offed Dorian and was looking for his money.”

“This is another known location” where Washington was at, Lavergne told jurors Wednesday. “Phone pings from Mr. Washington and Mr. Brooks’ phones corroborate Mr. Brooks’ statement that Washington was at his house after the shooting and that he called Mr. Jackson while Mr. Washington stood in Mr. Brooks’ driveway.”