The teens who testified — one 17 and the other 15 — said they were among four people with Gregory in a car whose occupants confronted Bowers and three others on Willowdale Avenue on Sept. 4. It happened shortly after both groups left AlterFest, where the dispute surfaced that night.
“I wasn’t sure he shot anybody. But he did shoot at the car,” the 15-year-old said of Gregory.
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The 17-year-old described Gregory as his “best friend” and said he initially lied to authorities about the shooting before later fingering Gregory “because I couldn’t go down for something I didn’t do.”
The two teens were key witnesses against Gregory, who faces two counts of murder prosecutors filed last fall. Bowers, a 16-year-old "innocent bystander," died Sept. 6 in the city's first gun-related homicide since 2007.
Assistant Prosecutor Lynda Dodd told Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Anthony Capizzi the state provided sufficient evidence to transfer the case.
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“He shot a firearm into a vehicle full of people,” she said, noting that in such cases “one witness should be sufficient.”
Defense attorney Ben Swift said the state failed to meet its burden and questioned the credibility of both witnesses. They reached a plea agreement on lesser charges in November on lesser charges, are set for sentencing this week in juvenile court and — like Gregory — have been in custody since shortly after the shooting.
“Both had motives not to tell the truth in this case,” Swift said.
While Capizzi indicated he would make a ruling next week on Gregory’s case, in court Monday several other issues were addressed:
•"Innocent bystander": Both teen witnesses said they did not know Bowers and no evidence surfaced Monday that Gregory knew the victim. The 17-year-old said on the night of the shooting he was prepared to fight a passenger he did know in Bowers' car stemming from a "beef" that surfaced earlier at AlterFest.
The 15-year-old said he approached Bowers’ car on Willowdale that night, but “backed off” after seeing two females in the back seat he knew. A fourth passenger in their car approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and punched Bowers, both teens said.
•AlterFest "beef": Both teens described a "beef" involving Miles Heizer – who was driving the car they were in – and a passenger in Bowers car. The rift began at AlterFest shortly after they arrived at the annual Catholic festival.
Bowers’ group end up leaving the festival to avoid the dispute, the witnesses said. But both said the other group ended up following them at the urging of Heizer, who was held for a brief time after the shooting but never charged.
•The shooting: Both teens said the car driven by Heizer tracked Bowers' Lexus down in the 800 block of Willowdale, and all five exited and approached the vehicle parked in a driveway, where "there was supposed to be a fight," the 15-year-old said.
Both witnesses said they and Heizer walked up to the passenger side door — which was locked – before Bowers’ reversed out of the driveway. As Bowers drove away, the 17-year-old said he heard a gunshot and immediately looked back in the direction of the sound and saw Gregory holding a “gun (that) was pointed to the back of the (Bowers) car.”
The 15-year-old said saw Gregory fire the weapon. “I seen a flash” and Bowers’ car started “swerving and went into a driveway and nearly hit a house.”
•The gun: The teens said Gregory showed them a gun prior to the shooting – on social media and in person. The older teen said Gregory showed him a gun through Instagram and FaceTime and later at Katner Park in Kettering before going to AlterFest. The younger witness also said Gregory had a gun in his waistband at the park prior to the festival.
After the shooting — once they learned that someone had been shot on Willowdale — the 17-year-old said Gregory gave him the gun to hide because “Kylen’s father is strict” and Gregory would likely face strong consequences if his father discovered a gun.
A short time later, the older teen said he wiped the gun clean and hid it in a laundry room waste can at his apartment building, where Kettering Detective David Marcum testified Monday that he found it.
•The urn: Bowers' father on Monday brought to the courtroom an urn, which he said contained his son's remains. The elder Bowers said he did so in memory of his son and placed it on the on a ledge separating court spectators and attorneys.
Swift – noting that “emotions are high on both sides” of the case - objected to having it in court, citing possible prejudicial issues. But Capizzi said, because there was no jury and the urn would not sway his thinking, it could stay.
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