The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Prosecutors ended their case against a former Louisville police detective on Tuesday after three days of testimony.
McKenzie Mattingly, a former narcotics detective, is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Michael Newby.
Testimony from police, witnesses and forensic experts painted a sometimes blurry picture of the Jan. 3 shooting. Newby, 19, was shot three times in the back by Mattingly after an undercover drug deal went awry.
Mattingly’s attorneys have argued that Mattingly thought Newby was reaching for a weapon before he fired.
Newby was carrying a .45-caliber handgun, some drugs and cash the night of the shooting, which occurred in a liquor store parking lot in western Louisville, police said.
None of the prosecution witnesses said they had a clear view of Newby before he was shot.
The liquor store’s owner, Greg Hill, said he witnessed the shooting but was not looking at Newby when he was shot. An officer near the scene before the shooting, Detective Matthew Thomerson, said his view of Newby was partially blocked by a car in the parking lot. A medical examiner said Newby could have been turning during the shooting but she could not say in which direction and could not determine the order that the bullets hit Newby.
Also on Tuesday, the jury briefly visited the scene of the shooting at 46th and Market streets.
On the night of the shooting, Mattingly was attempting to buy drugs from Newby and two other men before one of the men grabbed some cash from Mattingly’s hand. Mattingly got out of his undercover vehicle, drew his handgun, and scuffled with Newby. The gun fired, and Newby and Mattingly separated as Newby moved away. Mattingly then fired four times, hitting Newby three times in the back.
The racially charged shooting ignited anger in Louisville’s black community. Newby was the seventh black man killed by Louisville police since 1998. Mattingly is white.
Mattingly, 32, was indicted for murder and wanton endangerment in March and fired a month later.