Means, Motive & Opportunity

Dad tells of seeing son after shooting

By Bruce Gerstman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

MARTINEZ - Landrin Kelly, who sat in court every day for the trial of the teenager accused of gunning down his son, stood up and took the stand Wednesday.

In testimony that was intermingled with many objections from defense attorney Jonathan Laba, the jury saw the grief of a father who, until then, had maintained a stoic exterior in the courtroom.

Kelly told how he arrived at the shooting scene on a Richmond street on Aug. 12, 2004, a short time after his son was shot.

Beginning his testimony in a loud voice, crossing his arms in front of his chest, Landrin Kelly said he tried to duck under the yellow crime tape. But officers pulled him back.

"I said, 'That's my son laying on the ground! Is he alive? Tell me,'" the 37-year-old father testified, his words fading into soft weeping.

Darren Pratcher, now 17, is charged with murder and gun enhancements in the killing of Kelly, a De La Salle football star, days before starting his first day of college on an athletic scholarship.

The teenager faces up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted of all counts.

Pratcher's attorney, Jonathan Laba, has said his client shot Kelly under the mistaken belief that he was defending himself against another man who had made indirect threats against him earlier that day.

Laba asked Landrin Kelly questions on cross-examination focusing on the theory of mistaken identity.

Kelly testified that his son usually drove a dark Ford Mustang. That night he had borrowed Landrin Kelly's white Oldsmobile.

After Kelly left the stand, Richmond police Sgt. Mitchell Peixoto testified that investigators had sought Pratcher for five days when the teenager came to the police station on Aug. 17.

He never admitted that he shot Kelly, Peixoto said. He said he wasn't at the scene at all.

Peixoto asked him about a gray beanie hat investigators found near Kelly's body. Pratcher told him he had lost a similar cap, Peixoto testified.

"As soon as the beanie came up, he became a little bit apprehensive," Peixoto said. "He started talking fast."

Pratcher ended the interview and Peixoto drove him to Juvenile Hall, he said. Pratcher changed his story in the patrol car, saying he was at the scene when Kelly was shot.

"Did he tell you he killed Mr. Kelly because he was afraid?" asked prosecutor David Brown.

"No," Peixoto replied.

Pratcher told Peixoto that he and Kelly "were cool with each other," Peixoto said under Laba's cross-examination.

Jurors on Thursday will watch a video interview and then listen to a separate audio interview investigators had with Pratcher.

Judge Laurel Brady said she will rule on Thursday whether Peixoto can testify to the existence of a central Richmond gang -- known for its hostility to people from outside central Richmond -- and whether Pratcher was affiliated with it.

Pratcher's confirmed affiliation would give Brown the opportunity to show that Pratcher had a motive to kill Kelly, who came from south Richmond.

Reach Bruce Gerstman at 925-952-2670 or at bgerstman@cctimes.com.