Jackson had an injured right hand and his
knife sheath was empty. Henderson
also testified that during a subsequent search of defendant's apartment he
found a pair of denim shorts that appeared to have blood stains on them.
Shirley Westphall, a resident of Jose's Place, testified that between 7-9 pm about 2-3 weeks prior to the murder she was having trouble
sleeping so she thought a walk in the halls would tire her out. She walked to the other end of the complex
near where victim Baker's apt. was located.
She heard two voices
she identified as John Baker and David Jackson having a loud conversation. She testified Jackson was asking Baker for
money. Baker said that he could not loan
Jackson anymore money, and that Jackson hadn't paid him for the money he
borrowed previously. Baker said
he hadn't got his check yet. Jackson
replied, "You know when your check comes, you'll pay me some money or I'll
kill you."
Westphall told her
caretaker, who urged her to report the conversation to the police following
Baker's murder. DA Investigator Noel Dunne testified that while the crime scene was being processed,
he saw the defendant walk past his position with a bag that he apparently
deposited in the garbage dumpster at the complex. Dunne retrieved the bag, which was found to contain a grey tank top
shirt with red stains on it, a pair of black sandals with red stains which
tested positive for blood, Golden 1 Credit Union checks with the victim's name
on them, a white GE cordless telephone, and a "Go Video" brand DVD
remote. Dunne checked the
victim's apt. and found a GE phone base and a "Go Video" brand DVD
player. Dunne also collected 4 suspected
blood samples from defendant's apt. DA Investigator Larry Waller testified as
to the crime scene processing and evidence collection and the wounds he
observed on Baker.
DA Investigator John D'Agostini testified that after initially giving investigators a false story of his whereabouts the night of 7/25 and the early morning hours of 7/26, the defendant admitted to the killing of Baker. Jackson said that he and Baker had been involved in an argument and Baker threw a framed photo at Jackson which broke cutting Jackson's hand. Jackson said he then hit Baker in the face, "Pretty hard for a white boy," causing Baker to lose consciousness. After about 10 minutes, Jackson said Baker regained consciousness and hit Jackson in the groin area. Jackson said he "saw red", hit Baker, and then he doesn't remember anything until he was standing over Baker with a knife dripping blood, watching Baker dead.
Jackson told D'Agostini that he tried to "clean his tracks." Jackson admitted to taking Baker's check book, phone and DVD remote because they might have his fingerprints on them. D'Agostini also testified that he had spoken with Dr. Mark Super of the Sacramento Coroner's Office who performed the forensic autopsy of Baker's body. Dr. Super told D'Agostini that the cause of death was sharp and blunt force injuries to Baker's neck and head. Dr. Super told D’Agostini that he could not rule out that the victim was also strangled and tortured. Judge Richmond held the defendant to answer on all charges and found true the fact that Jackson used a deadly weapon to commit the crimes, a knife. Jackson returns to court for arraignment on the Information on 12/29 at 1 p.m.