Testimony begins at trial of Toledo man accused of shooting and assault

LIMA. On Monday, testimony began in the case of a Toledo resident accused of assaulting a man and killing his son.

DeMarco Morris, 34, has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of second-degree assault and felony in the first degree of using a firearm in prohibited areas. All charges have the characteristics of firearms. Morris is charged with shooting at a truck and killing 25-year-old Davion Latson on September 5, 2021.

Testimony began after several people were removed from the courtroom following an altercation between a man who spoke for Morris and a woman who spoke for the Latson family.

Allen County Court of General Claims Judge Terry Colriser said anyone who disrupts the lawsuit will be held in contempt of court.

“I’m not the one to play with,” Kohlrieser told the crowded audience.

Michael Latson, Davion Latson’s father, testified that he was drinking with friends that day. He said that at the house on South Perry Street he had an argument with one of the men who hit him on the back of the head with an object.

Latson said that Morris punched him in the face while he was out of the house and he remembers someone punching him. He said he left the house when he heard the cocking of the hammer.

Latson, who said he was confused by a head injury, didn’t know where he was until his girlfriend, whom he was talking to on the phone, told him to knock on someone’s door and ask for help.

Jennifer Stewart, the man’s girlfriend, testified that she repeatedly called Latson because he was unlike not coming home before 11 p.m. ”

Stewart said that once she located the man’s whereabouts, she called her son to pick up his father and stayed on the phone.

Michael Latson said that when his son picked him up, they happened to drive past a house on Perry Street where Davion Latson saw one of his father’s friends. He said he asked who had hurt his father, and when no one answered, he began to drive away before three or four shots were fired.

Michael Latson said he looked out of the back of the car and saw Morris firing at them. He said that his son was hit, lost consciousness and accelerated the car, which crashed and overturned.

Stewart said she heard gunshots on the phone and her son said he was hit. She said she heard Davion Latson’s last breath.

“That was my baby; he was my only son,” the woman told the jury through tears. “…I feel so guilty; I harmed my son and failed to protect him.”

Stewart said her boyfriend’s sister took her to an area where she believed two men were driving. She saw police lights and her son outside, covered in a white sheet.

Assistant Public Defender Steve Chamberlain said during the opening debate that the defense did not intend to argue that Morris did not fire the gun that killed Davion Latson, but disputed that it was murder. He said the shooting was an act of self-defense and to protect his three young children who were at home.

Testimony in the case will continue on Tuesday at 9 a.m.