ASHEVILLE - Despite multiple tentative trial dates set in the past year, a jury has yet to hear the first-degree murder case of Jamel Tyjon Grant, who was fatally shot downtown on July 10, 2022.
Court records show Danquries Lamar Green, 27, and his attorney, Sean Devereux, intend to argue Green acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 24-year-old Grant outside a club in downtown Asheville, a couple of blocks away from Asheville Police Department's headquarters.
Two years after his arrest, Green remains in the Buncombe County Detention Facility without bond under charges of first-degree murder, going armed to the terror of the people and discharging a firearm in city limits. It’s not yet known when he’ll face a jury. Devereux said a recent trial date in June was unanimously continued while they await more evidence from the state.
Meanwhile, court records provide more detail into what might have happened the night one man died, and another was investigated for murder.
What do court records show?
In a warrant requesting permission to search Green’s phone in May, an APD officer states that Grant was shot in the back at least three times. Surveillance video reportedly shows the two walking together on a sidewalk just past Room Nine, a club located on College Street in downtown Asheville.
When they reach the front of Twisted Laurel, Green is seen pulling a firearm from his waistband and firing at Grant, the officer wrote. Green fled but turned himself in to law enforcement two days later, after being charged with first-degree murder.
Previous reporting: Asheville downtown murder case could be tried this summer; victim was shot in back
A motion submitted by Devereux suggests Grant was leading Green to an unlighted alley behind Room Nine based on surveillance video. Witnesses allegedly told the defense counsel that “an associate of Grant” was seen moving into the alley from the opposite direction.
The defense attorney’s motion said Grant was wearing a mask and armed with a semi-automatic pistol. In the moments before he was shot, Grant pointed the pistol at Green through his hoodie pocket and “announced his intention to rob Green,” Devereux said in his motion.
Kaelis Collington, the mother of Green’s son, was outside Room Nine that night, according to the defense’s motion. She’s the sister of Amya Collington, who was acquitted of murder in the death of Dexter Grant , Jamel Grant’s brother. Kaelis Collington said she saw Jamel Grant follow her in the parking area outside Room Nine before the shooting and called her mother.
“Facing her, (Grant) briefly withdrew his hand from the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt to display to her a pistol in that hand,” Devereux wrote in court records.
But Jewell Grant, Grant's mother, said her children watched the video of the shooting, saying her son and Green were "walking and talking casually."
"As my son walked, he took three steps back and shot him three times in his back," Grant said, adding that she feels her son was "assassinated."
More: Not guilty: Buncombe County jury acquits Asheville woman in Pisgah View murder trial
Was victim a gang member?
Devereux submitted a motion to compel records on Grant in February, alleging his affiliation with a gang and that he's linked to cold cases in Asheville, namely the shooting death of Kanize Kamarie Jackson , who was killed in a shooting on Aug. 5, 2020, in West Asheville.
The defense attorney alleges Grant was “flagged as a dangerous individual and a threat to the community” in data from an APD impact unit, which investigates gang activity in the Asheville area.
However, Jewell Grant said her son was never a part of a gang, though he might have known people who were while growing up as an "inner city kid" in Raleigh.
"One time he said, 'Mom, I'm not in a gang because I'm not a follower,'" Grant told the Citizen Times July 23.
Assistant District Attorney Stormy Ellis wrote a motion to prevent the production of “improper character evidence” in October. She claims the defense “has made several comments without evidence that the victim was attempting to rob the defendant.”
Ellis wrote that the victim’s character is not “pertinent” since it’s not “at issue.” Even in a claim of self-defense, only the victim’s violent characteristics would be relevant, yet Grant has no violent criminal convictions on his record, she wrote.
“The judge gave us not all of it, but most of it,” Devereux said. “She disagreed with the state’s position.”
In February, Superior Court Judge Karen Eady-Williams ordered the prosecution provide law enforcement reports where Grant was a victim, witness or person of interest and ask APD about any notes regarding Grant from any intelligence meetings.
The state provided some documents now kept under seal, meaning they are not publicly viewable.
'Never got the opportunity to change, to be a father'
After growing up in Raleigh, Grant came to Asheville when his family moved to the city in 2017, Jewell Grant said. Known to his family as Ty'Jon or simply "Ty," his mom described Grant as a practical joker, who was humble but head strong. He worked in landscaping and had five sisters and five brothers.
Grant had a child who turned 1 the day before the shooting, his mother said.
"He didn't get an opportunity to explore fatherhood at all. My son was very excited about becoming a father, that's something he always talked about. He wanted to change; he had a son to live for, but he didn't even get the opportunity," Grant said.
Jewell Grant said she goes through "ups and downs" while waiting for answers from the prolonged court case, but it's given her time to process, adding that "everything has its right timing."
"I just have to lean on faith with the frustration of the courts," Grant said. "I feel in some parts it's designed to work in the defense's favor with the prolonging. The defense is picking, picking, picking and the offense is just looking at what happened."
"I know my son is going to get the victory this time. God is not going to let me experience the same thing twice."
More: Murder case dropped for woman charged with ex-boyfriend's 2021 homicide when she was 18
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Downtown Asheville murder in 2022: records sealed, self-defense claim before trial
Local News
