Eyewitness Testifies In Dajae Coleman Murder Trial

SKOKIE, IL — The murder trial of the man accused of murdering an Evanston Township High School freshman five years ago concluded its first week Friday, following testimony from an alleged eyewitness to the shooting, a police gang expert and the doctor who conducted the autopsy. Wesley Woodson, now 25, is charged with first degree murder in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman as he walked home along the 1500 block of Church Street near ETHS after 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2012. Prosecutors argue that Woodson was a gang member who fired five bullets into a crowd of teens mistaking them for people who had injured his cousin during a party earlier that night.

The killing shocked Evanston and continues to reverberate through the community. Coleman — nicknamed "Dae-Dae" — was a popular, well-rounded, outgoing, aspiring Wildkits basketball player who would have been set to graduate last year. In his memory, his mother, a health care coordinator for Cook County, founded the Dajae Coleman Foundation, offering scholarships and awards to motivate and instill positive values in Evanston's youth.

In court on Friday, Cook County prosecutors presented a fourth day of witnesses before a jury made up of seven women and five men. A couple who lived next door to Woodson described how one witnessed the shooting while outside smoking a cigarette.

"It's time to man up," the witness remembered saying while speaking with detects. "Because someone was dead." Woodson's defense attorneys questioned why the witness, who found multiple shell casings in front of the couples' residence, did not immediately come forward to identify his neighbor.

"You didn't speak up for the dead for two days," said defense attorney Michael Krejci.

It remains to be seen how much of the neighbor's 911 call will be played for the jury. Police never recovered a murder weapon and there has been no forensic evidence presented connecting Woodson to the killing, so prosecutors are heavily reliant on eyewitness testimony to the nighttime shooting. Defense attorneys argue that Woodson was home at the time of the shooting, while his neighbors at the time said the home was uncharacteristically dark.

Related: 5 Years After Fatal Shooting Of 14-Year-Old Dajae Coleman, Murder Trial Begins

Also Friday, the state called the doctor who performed the autopsy on Coleman. Prosecutors showed the jury images of gunshot wound to through back of the 5-foot 6-inch, 145-pound boy, causing him to collapse and die, the 22-year veteran of the Cook County Medical Examiner's office testified. Woodson's defense objected to it being shown to the jury, and much of Coleman's family left the room when the photographs were presented. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Before the testimony of the Evanston Police Department's former intelligence officer, introduced as an expert on "gang crimes", defense attorneys raised objections to the presence of Facebook comments being included alongside images of Woodson's allegedly gang-related tattoos and other posts meant to establish his affiliation with both neighborhood and national gangs.

"We're seeing a lot of trivial matters, often fueled by social media, ending up in violent situations," said Sergeant Michael Endre. He testified that Woodson was and remains a member of the Black Disciples national gang and the D Block, which he described as the "largest neighborhood-based gang in Evanston" and centered in the area of the shooting northeast of ETHS. Woodson also allegedly self-reported gang membership to Cook County and Round Lake Beach law enforcement.

"I know you're not on Facebook," Assistant State's Attorney Michele Gemskie mentioned to Judge Lauren Edidin.

"That's correct," the judge said. Edidin explained showing jurors the commentary alongside the social media images was not what she remembered having ordered. "There's no way I would have allowed these comments," she said. However, Edidin did decide to allow a few specifically mentioning the gangs in question over continuing objections from Woodson's two defense attorneys.

Prosecution witness testimony continues Monday at the 2nd District Courthouse in Skokie.

_{Top image Wesley Woodson, Dajae Coleman | via Evanston PD, Tiffany Rice}