Shot twice, Kentarius Montrell Scott died in a rainy west Little Rock parking lot. The gunman, Darean Deshun Moore of Memphis, disappeared into the storm.
A boisterous night out among fraternity brothers watching basketball at the Twin Peaks restaurant ended in tragedy for Scott, a 25-year-old Philander Smith College student, all due to a dispute over some scuffed shoes.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on that Wednesday, 20 months later, leaving a Pulaski County jury to decide whether Moore, 22, killed Scott in an act of self-defense, first-degree murder or possibly a lesser charge. Proceedings before Circuit Judge Leon Johnson resume at 9:30 a.m. today, with the trial potentially running through Friday.
Scott's death was "tragic and unfortunate," but it was Scott who twice stepped on Moore's shoes that night then mocked Moore when he took offense, defense attorney Colleen Barnhill told the nine women and three men hearing evidence.
It was Scott who led a taunting and jeering crowd out of the restaurant to confront Moore, a spectacle so alarming that one by-passer went looking to get help for Moore, the public defender said. Next, it was a "relentless" and "worked up" Scott who demanded to fight Moore, she said.
And, finally, it was Scott who pushed by Moore's brother -- who was trying to calm things down -- to get at Moore, forcing the younger man to shoot to defend himself, said Barnhill, with co-counsel Cheryl Barnard and Jacob Denson. Moore had to protect himself from Scott, she said.
"Darean reasonably feared for his life that night, and he was justified in defending himself," Barnhill said her opening statement.
Moore was not the only person firing a gun that night, she said. A "complete shootout" ensued after Scott was shot, with as many as 15 more bullets fired, Barnhill said, describing witnesses who saw two vehicles of gunmen chasing Moore.
"Bullets are ringing out through the neighborhood," Barnhill said.
Who those others were is a mystery, she said, telling jurors detectives needed five weeks before they could find two of Scott's fraternity brothers who would tell them what they saw that night.
"[Moore] showed up to a fistfight with a gun," deputy prosecutor Tracye Mosley told jurors as she laid out the case for murder in opening statements.
Mosley and co-counsel Reese Lancaster described the defendant as the aggressor and instigator that August 2020 night.
"He's ready to fight because someone stepped on his shoe. [Scott] dies in the rain in the dark parking lot ... over a shoe, a shoe being stepped on," Mosley said.
Scott and Moore were part of the same group that night, although Moore was not a member of the Philander Smith Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity chapter, like Scott was, and didn't know any of the other members beyond his older brother, who also a member.
Moore was visiting from Tennessee and his brother had brought Moore along for the men's "fellowship" at the sports bar and restaurant with his fellow "line brothers," members of the same pledge class.
Beloved regulars known as the Nupes, the group was making its first appearance at the eatery on North Shackelford Drive after a long break due to the covid pandemic. The occasion was the NBA playoffs, the men were drinking and having fun, and Twin Peaks was full, busy and loud, the prosecutor said.
Moore, wearing a distinctive pink jacket, didn't know anyone other than his brother, and witnesses described him as "standoffish" and aloof, the prosecutor said.
At some point, Scott stepped on Moore's shoe, Mosley told jurors, but his fervent apologies were not enough for Moore, and the two agreed to step out front and settle their differences with fists, followed by many of the fraternity members.
With the crowd watching, the two squared off but then Moore seemed to back down and lose interest in fighting, the prosecutor said.
Scott, however, didn't let his guard down, keeping his hands raised, as Moore's brother, standing at their car, called for his brother to get in so they could go, Mosley said. Then Moore pulled a revolver out of his coat and shot Scott twice, with the three not more than five feet apart, she said.
Moore didn't have to shoot, she said, and could have just safely driven away. Instead, he killed Scott and ran, Mosley said.
Police found Moore's pink jacket in a nearby trash receptacle. Authorities arrested Moore about three hours later after tracking him to a North Little Rock truck stop about 23 miles away.
An Uber driver told police he'd dropped a fare off there, a soaking wet man wearing mismatched shoes that he'd picked up by Twin Peaks.
Moore has been jailed ever since.