Santana trial day 2: 3rd teen who was with 2 killed in shooting testifies

DAYTON — The third teen who was with the two teens shot and killed in a detached garage in 2019 described the shooting that now has a Dayton man facing multiple felony charges, including murder.

“When I saw the door open, I saw flash, flash, flash ‚flash, hear the gunshots and then I heard Javier said, I’ve got shot,” said Ja’shin Gibson during the second day of the Victor Santana trial.

>> DAY 1: Prosecutor says two teens killed in garage couldn’t escape; defense says shooter was ‘afraid’

Santana, 63, of Dayton, is accused of killing 17-year-old Dayton residents Devin Henderson and Javier Harrison on his Conners Street property.

“He was talking as he was shooting but there was no warning when he opened the door and started shooting,” Gibson said.

Gibson was on the stand for about an hour through questioning and cross-examination Wednesday morning.

Santana’s defense lawyer Lucas Wilder asked Gibson” Did you say anything, like hey man we don’t have guns, we are not here to cause problems”?

Gibson responding saying, ”He just opened the door and just started shooting.”

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Gibson said the teens were in the car to smoke weed, but had only rolled some joints when the door of the car was opened and gunfire started

Gibson, who is now 21, was 19 at the time the shooting happened. He said he and the other two who were killed thought the house, the garage and the cars were abandoned. Gibson said he and Harrison ran around into the alley and jumped the fence near the garage, adding that only Henderson walked in through the front gate and around the house to the garage.

During the first day of testimony on Tuesday, Wilder said Santana was a “loner” and had a fence around his property when he heard someone come in his fence around 11 p.m. He saw three people he thought were adults entering his yard, Wilder said.

Santana got a gun from his bedroom and came out, but did not see the people.

“He becomes afraid, stressed, he can’t see the individuals, he doesn’t know where they’ve gone, he is afraid they’ll come to his house,” Wilder said.

Wilder has argued that Santana’s actions were done in self-defense, however Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said the case “does not demonstrate a reasonable claim of self-defense.”

Santana was arrested following his indictment in November 2019 and has remained in jail since. His bond was set at $2 million.

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