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2 men go to trial in bystander's shooting

They thought they were being chased by people who wanted to kill them, so they opened fire, killing a mother of four in 2003, prosecutors say.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published June 1, 2006

LARGO - Deontae Thomas had a price on his head for stealing $95,000 from a powerful St. Petersburg drug dealer.

The thugs who chased him wielded handguns. But Thomas carried high-powered assault rifles.

Prosecutors say Thomas, now 24, and a friend, Alton Hall, 25, thought they were being chased by a car one night in April 2003.

So they opened fire.

A stray bullet killed Cynthia Bethune, a bystander walking home from a store with a loaf of bread.

Thomas and Hall headed to trial Wednesday, both charged with first-degree murder and facing a possible death sentence for the killing of Bethune, a 41-year-old mother of four.

In opening statements, prosecutor Richard Ripplinger said Thomas and Hall shot at least 20 times at a red car that they thought carried enemies.

Instead, the driver was a man in a hurry to get home so he wouldn't be in trouble with his girlfriend. Bethune was walking a short distance away.

"She caught one of those bullets," Ripplinger told jurors. "It literally blew the top of her head off."

Thomas is being represented by three attorneys at trial. Hall has two of his own. Hall's attorneys reserved their right to make an opening statement until later in the trial.

But Thomas' attorney, Richard Watts, told jurors that Thomas will admit to his role in the shooting. In what appears to be a strategy to save Thomas from death row, his attorneys hope to show that the shooting was prompted by fear.

"It happened fast. There was a sudden response, and that response was gunfire," Watts told jurors. "He's responsible for what he did, and he'll tell you what he did."

Thomas and Hall also face seven attempted murder charges. Prosecutors say they shot at homes associated with the drug dealer who was after Thomas and led police on a high-speed chase in which they fired at officers, grazing one across the head with a bullet.

All that violence had St. Petersburg's Midtown area on edge for days. It prompted police administrators to crack down on violent drug dealing and to arm officers with more potent firepower. Residents rallied against crime.

Thomas already has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of the drug dealer who put the price on his head. Thomas shot Bernard "Nard" Johnson to death on April 23, 2003, months after Thomas stole $95,000 of the powerful dealer's cash.

Johnson's associates immediately suspected Thomas of the murder and went after him. Shots were fired at Thomas' associates and friends, as were homes associated with Johnson's people.

Bethune was killed the night after Johnson's murder.

A third man who prosecutors say was involved in the Bethune shooting, James Gilley, is scheduled for trial in the fall.

Bethune's mother, Ruby Walker, said she's been eager for the trial to start. She said Bethune's children - ages 26, 17, 15 and 12 - want the death penalty.

"I don't have any hatred in my heart for them, but I wish they would get to the Lord," said Walker, who added that Bethune comes from a close-knit, Christian family. "I have to forgive them because I'm a Christian. They (Bethune's children) say what was done to their mother they want done to them."

The trial is expected to run into next week.

[Last modified June 1, 2006, 05:20:05]