MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Eye-witness testimony continued Wednesday in the trial of Gregory Livingston, the security guard accused of fatally shooting Alvin Motley Jr. at a Kroger gas station back in 2021.
Witnesses faced questions on the specific details surrounding the argument between the 48-year-old Motley and Livingston, which ended with Livingston shooting the Chicago man, leading to a first-degree murder charge.
First to take the stand was Shedrick Weary, who remembers the argument that started over the volume of music playing in the car Motley and his girlfriend Pia Foster were in. Weary says he told Livingston that he didn’t think the music was bothering anyone. Once the argument between Livingston, Foster and Motley had ended and the couple was backing their car away, Weary said he exchanged words with Livingston.
“The security guard came up to me and told me that he’s killed people before in the past and that he wasn’t worried about whatever they just got into,” Weary said.
Defense attorney Steve Farese argued that this did not hold up with the timeline of Weary’s previous testimonies, in which he stated Livingston would’ve been on the phone with 911 at the time.
“Oh, he said it before he got on the phone? That’s not what you said in your under oath testimony on September 28th,” Farese told Weary.
“I was wrong (then),” Weary admitted.
Livingston claims the shooting was in self-defense and that he feared for his life. Previous witness statements say Livingston told Motley to stop before he walked over.
“I do remember him making a command,” witness Zypourah Richardson told the court Wednesday. “I do not remember exactly what it was.”
Shelby County medical examiner Dr. Marco Ross also testified, going over Motley’s autopsy. That included the toxicology report, which showed Motley had a blood alcohol level of .221 (he was not driving), traces of MDMA (ecstasy) in his system and signs of marijuana use.
“When we have a stimulant (ecstasy) combined with a depressant such as alcohol and the effects may actually cancel one another out,” Dr. Ross said.
Dr. Ross said there’s no way to know for sure how the substances might have affected Motley’s behavior.
“There’s quite a range of potential effects that these drugs could have,” he said.
Weary reiterated to the prosecution that because of the traumatic nature of witnessing the deadly shooting, he could not be sure exactly when Livingston told him he had killed people before, but he was “one thousand percent” sure that he said.
Memphis Police officers also took the stand, showing body camera footage as they responded to the scene.
The trial resumes Thursday at 10:30 a.m.