Identical twin brothers accused of shooting at a man in the parking lot of an East Main Street business last year are scheduled to face a jury this morning for what is expected to be a two-day trial.
Although 23-year-olds Eltron and Elton Bailey have each been indicted on charges of attempted murder and first-degree wanton endangerment in the incident, today’s trial will only consider the charges of convicted felon in possession of a handgun, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jennifer Smith.
Smith said the court decided that trying the handgun charges at the same time as the attempted-murder allegations would be prejudicial. Unless the case is resolved in a plea deal, the Baileys will be tried at a later date on the attempted-murder and wanton-endangerment charges.
Both Eltron and Elton have previous felony convictions, and they have been indicted as second-degree felony offenders, which increases the possible sentences they could face if a jury finds they guilty on any of the charges. They could face life in prison if found guilty of attempted murder.
The charge of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon is a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
The brothers are accused of trying to kill Jonathon “Pookie” Harris in the parking lot of East Main Tobacco on April 12, according to an arrest warrant affidavit sworn out by Richmond police Detective Eric Long.
Long stated that footage from the tobacco store’s video surveillance system showed the entire incident.
The two men approached Harris’ vehicle, and Elton handed a pistol to Eltron, who opened fire on Harris’ vehicle as it drove away, Long wrote. No one was struck by the bullets.
The Baileys and two other men ran away from the scene to a nearby Linden Street apartment where police found them a short time later.
Elton was identified from the video as well as other evidence at the scene, according to the affidavit.
Police found seven spent 9 mm shell casings in the parking lot as well as one live 9 mm shell. A 9 mm pistol was found on the ground next to the rear door of the apartment, and later analysis showed that Eltron’s fingerprint was on the gun, according to his arrest citation.
A search warrant affidavit sworn out by RPD officer Paul Lay stated police were told by a person who knew the brothers that Eltron and Elton had been in some “altercations” with Harris about money.
At the time of the parking lot shooting, Elton was out on a $10,000 partially secured bond in another case in which he is accused of shooting a gun at a pregnant woman in November 2011. An indictment handed down last week by a Madison County grand jury has charged him with tampering with his electronic monitoring device and second-degree escape, which allegedly occurred about three weeks before the East Main Street shooting.
Both of these cases – the November 2011 shooting and escape while out on bond – are still pending in Madison Circuit Court.
Sarah Hogsed can be reached at shogsed@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.
Local News
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Eltron Bailey
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Elton Bailey
Twins to face trial today on gun charge connected with shooting
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