The trial of a man accused of killing an Alexandria man last year during an attempted vehicle break-in is underway in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Tavon Tykee Ferguson is accused of second-degree murder and use of a firearm while committing a felony in the death of 21-year-old Jaylin Hartless. Prosecutors say that Ferguson and a second man, Tavon Lang of Alexandria, were trying car doors in the Woodlawn area when they came upon Hartless sitting in his car.
“He fell asleep listening to music in his car,” Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Christopher Keegan said when Ferguson’s trial began yesterday (Monday). “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He did nothing wrong.”
Lang was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with Hartless’s killing on July 17. According to court records, lesser charges against a third person were dropped in February.
After hours spent on jury selection, prosecutors and Ferguson’s defense attorney delivered opening statements yesterday laying out their theories of the case.
This much was agreed upon: on the night of Sept. 18, Hartless set out to run errands around 11 p.m. and was sitting in his car in the 3400 block of Buckman Road, listening to music. A witness is expected to testify that in the early morning hours of Sept. 19, he saw two people trying doors of cars, prompting him to drive off to a nearby 7-11 to find police officers.
At around 3:30 a.m., Hartless was shot four times.
While searching the area for the two people trying doors, the police initially didn’t see Hartless lying on the ground. Around 4:51 a.m., officers again responded to the area and, this time, found Hartless dead between his car and another vehicle.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors will submit evidence that they say connects Ferguson to the fatal shooting, including testimony from expert witnesses and DNA found on two 99-mm bullet casings.
“Each piece is a piece of a puzzle that will tell us what happened to Jaylin that morning,” said Keegan.
Defense attorney Keith Corley contended that, while Lang and Ferguson were seen on security footage several blocks away, they separated and were not seen again in the 30 minutes that followed before Hartless’s death.
“We really don’t know what happened,” Corley said. “We have a lot of unanswered questions.”
“You get enough of those unanswered questions, that’s reasonable doubt,” he added.
According to Corley, the license and ID of a neighbor was also found at the scene, but the police interview of that person lasted “all of two minutes.”
He asked why another man in the area known to break into the cars was never investigated, and he pointed out that the witness told police that the two men seen trying to break into cars ran away as the witness drove past.
He also portrayed the DNA evidence as inconclusive, adding that Ferguson’s fingerprints were “nowhere to be found.”
Ferguson’s trial resumed today at 10 a.m.
