- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Defense presents final witnesses in home invasion trial
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The mother of two men on trial for a 2013 home invasion robbery and shooting in Clearlake Oaks was the last witness to take the stand during the defense's final day of testimony on Friday.
Dion Andre Davis II, 27, and his half-brother, Gregory Pierre Elarms, 30, both of San Francisco, are on trial for the home invasion on June 26, 2013, at the home of Ronnie and Janeane Bogner, whose adult son was shot during the incident.
Charges against Davis and Elarms include robbery, burglary, assault with a firearm on Jacob Bogner and on Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department, car theft, theft, vandalism and conspiracy, with Davis – the alleged shooter of Bogner – also charged with attempted murder. Their trial began late last month.
Elarms' attorney, Doug Ferguson, called Shunae Morgan as the first witness during the Friday afternoon session.
Morgan and Elarms have a 5-year-old young daughter together, and lived together on and off in the same San Francisco neighborhood where they grew up. She's studying business and management at City College and has her cosmetology license, with hopes of having her own business.
During questioning, Morgan explained that she saw Elarms on a daily basis in 2013, and that in June of that year he was working on an apartment complex renovation project around the corner from her home.
She said she would have known if he missed work, and he came home every night. Ferguson asked if she would have been upset if Elarms hadn't come home. Morgan laughed. “That's an understatement.”
She explained that they have children – the daughter they share as well as Elarms' older son from another relationship – and not being on a schedule “messes up the program.” Morgan said he took the children to school in the morning.
Under Anderson's cross-examination, Morgan said she and Elarms split time about 50-50 between her home and his; he and his son also lived with his mother, Regina McGee, at her home a short walk away.
Davis wasn't living at McGee's home at the time, and Morgan said she wasn't sure where he was. “I would just see him from time to time,” noting that “Uncle Dion” would show up and play with the children.
Morgan said that Elarms was still taking the children to school even during the summer break, as the school had a summer program. She estimated that Elarms worked from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and she was at school until 3 p.m.
She said she was sure Elarms was following his usual routine on June 26, 2013, and that he was preparing birthday parties for the children.
McGee took the stand next.
“I know this may be hard for you,” said Ferguson.
“Extremely,” McGee replied, noting Elarms is her eldest son.
McGee works for the city of San Francisco doing maintenance scheduling for SFO Airport. She studied criminal justice, received a bachelor's degree in 2012 and also is a minister at a Baptist church in Daly City.
She said she recalled seeing Elarms during the last week of June 2013, explaining that at that time she saw him every day.
Ferguson showed her a ticket for a car parked on her street. It was for a gray Chevrolet Malibu belonging to Davis. She and Davis had an argument and so at that time he wasn't living at her home, but he was there daily.
During questioning she estimated Elarms was staying there 90 percent of the time, compared to the 50-percent estimate Morgan had given.
Anderson asked if Davis had at any point rented a Chevy Malibu; that was the kind of rental car that the suspects were driving when they were being pursued by Clearlake Police. McGee said she didn't know.
McGee remembered her son stressing about the back-to-back birthday parties for his children, and his concerns about getting them gifts and having the money to do it.
Anderson also asked McGee about Jenaya Jelinek, who was at the wheel of the rented Malibu when police took her into custody on the day of the home invasion.
Jelinek, who had no prior criminal history according to the prosecution, pleaded out to second degree burglary last year and testified in the early days of the trial.
Jelinek and Davis were longtime friends, and also were described in the Friday testimony as being in a relationship. They were frequently at McGee's home when Davis was staying there in 2012, with Jelinek sometimes staying overnight in violation of McGee's rules.
After he was done with cross-examining McGee, Anderson asked the court to let him make McGee his witness, which retired Placer County Judge James Garbolino gave him permission to do.
Anderson then continued his questioning, asking her about her knowledge of where Elarms was working in June 2013. She was aware of the renovation project but didn't know when it stopped.
Davis' attorney, Bill Conwell, asked McGee if her memory was clear about the summer of 2013. “About some things,” she said, explaining she had memories of Elarms planning his children's birthday parties. “He makes stuff happen for his kids.”
Ferguson asked if Elarms was “somewhere else” at the start of July 2013. She said he may have spent the night out.
Ferguson then brought up the fact that Elarms had been incarcerated at about that point. She said she didn't recall, as she remembered him being around on July 1, which is his son's birthday.
When she was excused from the stand, she asked if she could hug her two sons. The judge said to wait until the session was over.
During a break following McGee's testimony, after the jury had been briefly excused, the judge and attorneys discussed working on a stipulation that Elarms had been arrested on July 1, 2013, and was in the San Francisco Jail on a matter unrelated to the home invasion.
After the break, Ferguson told the court he wanted to bring both Morgan and McGee back for further questioning.
Back briefly on the stand, Morgan said she recalled Elarms being taken into custody and remaining there until February 2014. However, she thought he was arrested after his son's birthday.
Ferguson asked McGee about Elarms being in custody, and she also thought it was after her grandson's birthday, as she remembered him being at the party. She said she was sure Elarms was in San Francisco the last week of June 2013.
Anderson asked her how long Elarms was in custody. She couldn't recall. He said Elarms was in custody through February 2014, but McGee said she didn't know the dates of his incarceration.
“You keep trying to catch me,” she said.
In followup questioning Ferguson asked her, “Is this whole process difficult for you?”
“It's very difficult,” she said.
He asked if, as a minister, she answered to a higher power. She said yes. He then asked if she would lie for her son. She said no. “I'm on the side of right.”
When Ferguson asked her if she would lie before God, she said no.
The defense rested, and Anderson said he would have a short rebuttal that he would offer when court resumes next Wednesday.
In addition to Anderson's rebuttal, Garbolino told the jurors they could expect counsel's final arguments on Wednesday, when the case resumes at 9 a.m.
“We're getting down to the last phase of the case,” Garbolino said.
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