Overview
- The prosecution rested Wednesday after showing surveillance, phone‑ping timelines, DNA recovered from a reported‑stolen Jeep Cherokee, and a spent shell casing found in the vehicle that prosecutors say matches casings from the bus‑stop scene.
- Prosecutors say the two defendants, who were 15 at the time, were targeting a different teen in a feud and that 16‑year‑old Tyree Smith was killed by mistake, evidence they bolstered with an alleged text message from one defendant the morning of the shooting.
- Police testified that the getaway Jeep was found dumped and set on fire the day after the Sept. 22, 2021 shooting and that items inside the burned vehicle helped investigators link Moore and Cable to the case.
- The defense has begun calling witnesses to challenge parts of the state’s account, including a Central High School teacher who disputed a claim that Mekhi Cable changed clothes after the shooting, and attorneys plan formal defenses Thursday and Friday.
- The trial’s outcome will turn on jurors’ assessment of layered forensic and digital evidence versus defense challenges, and the case has drawn attention to how investigators use DNA, spent‑case comparisons and phone data in prosecutions of youth gun violence.