Phone records presented in court

Cell phone records were introduced Wednesday in an attempt to provide a link between the defendant in a capital murder case and one of the people present when a volley of gunfire erupted on the night of Nov. 16, 2004.

Oderia Chipley, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison on drug conspiracy charges, told the jury that he and the defendant, Travis Ramseur, were long-term friends.

Ramseur is charged with killing Angelo Stockton and Timothy Cook and wounding Charles Summers in the 600 block of Brevard Street.

On the night of Nov. 16, 2004, Chipley testified he and a number of others were at a home on Brevard Street, drinking and socializing when a fight erupted between Stockton and Deleon Dalton, known as "Scoot Rock."

Chipley said he called Ramseur to tell him about the problem. “I said he might want to get over there,” Chipley said.

Chipley said he exchanged several calls with Ramseur that night.

In her cross-examination, defense attorney Lori Hamilton Dewitt asked Chipley about statements he gave to police in the days after the shootings on Brevard Street.

“You never once, not once mentioned Travis Ramseur,” she asked. “No,” Chipley replied.

She pointed out that Chipley was facing 20 years on the drug conspiracy charges and was given a reduction after testifying in other federal cases.

Dewitt also questioned Chipley about a Tuesday visit from Assistant District Attorney Jason Parker and Capt. David Ramsey of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office after Chipley indicated he didn’t want to testify.

Chipley said he told the district attorney’s office he didn’t want to play a part in Ramseur getting the death penalty. “They said they offered him a plea and he’d turned it down so it was his responsibility,” Chipley said. He also said Parker and Ramsey told him he could face accessory before the fact charges, which could result in a life sentence.

“Did it scare you?” she asked. “Yes,” Chipley replied.

“So you’re here to testify today,” she said.

Parker asked Chipley why he didn’t mention the calls to Ramseur in his early statements to police. He said his main purpose in those early statements was to clear Dalton.

As Stockton was being treated inside an apartment on Brevard Street that night, he told then Detective Sgt. Ron Wyatt from the sheriff’s office and then Lt. Bill Halliburton of the Statesville Police Department that Scoot Rock shot him. Scoot Rock is Dalton’s nickname.

Several witnesses have testified that Dalton was still inside the house on the opposite side of Brevard Street when the shooting began.

Chipley confirmed that Dalton was still inside the house.

Dalton, who is due to be released from federal prison in October, also testified about the night’s events.

He testified to speaking to Ramseur.

Dalton said Ramseur told him not to let anybody he liked come outside the house.

Then, a few minutes later, he said, he heard gunshots. He said he believed Stockton was doing the shooting.

“I thought Tub (Stockton’s nickname) was shooting up the house so I got on the floor,” he said.

Dalton, after learning he was being sought in the case, turned himself in. He was initially charged with murder, but those charges were dropped when evidence emerged that he was inside the house when the shooting started.

Dalton testified that the tension between the two groups was one that had simmered for some time. “It’s been like a Southside/Park Drive thing for years,” he said.

The man wounded in the shooting, Charles Summers, also testified on Wednesday, admitting that he and Cook were both armed that night and displayed their weapons during the fight between Dalton and Stockton.

Summers, who spent a month in the hospital recovering from his wounds, testified that he was hit by the first rounds fired that night. 

Summers said he didn’t remember much that happened after he was shot.

The final witnesses for the day were Halliburton and Wyatt -- who confirmed Stockton’s dying declaration that Scoot Rock was the shooter -- and Brad Deal, one of the paramedics who treated Stockton.

Under cross-examination from Dewitt, Wyatt, Halliburton and Deal all agreed the scene was chaotic.

The defense has questioned a number of witnesses about chaos surrounding the scene before the arrival of law enforcement and the securing of that crime scene.

Both attorneys questioned witnesses about seeing a gun next to Cook’s body. On the 911 call, Tyasha Wellman is heard saying there was a gun next to Cook.

However, that gun was missing by the time police arrived on the scene.

Deal told the jury that the crowd caused problems trying to get Stockton to the ambulance.

As he and his partner were performing CPR on Stockton, he said, they had to stop moving the stretcher because of the crowds and they were hearing threats from some in the crowd.

“They were saying we better not let him die,” Deal said.

Testimony in the case continues today.