Man accused of killing man outside Kroger representing himself

ATLANTA — The man accused of killing a father in a Kroger parking lot is acting as his own attorney.

Demarius Thompson is charged with killing construction worker Joshua Richey, a father of four, outside the Kroger store on Ponce de Leon in March 2015.

Prosecutors say Richey saw the defendant break into his truck. When he ran up, Thompson allegedly grabbed the victim's handgun from inside the truck and shot through the window, killing Richey.

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Thursday, Thompson cross examined the Atlanta detective, who arrested him on murder charges.

“Did the shooter touch the door handle?” he asked. “Yes, you touched the door handle,” Det. Summer Benton responded.

Channel 2’s Tom Regan says Thompson tried to convince the jury it was a case of mistaken identity.

“Did you see the shooter get into Joshua Richey’s truck?” he asked. “Yes, I saw you get into Joshua Richey’s truck,” Benton responded.

The prosecutor got a little exercise repeatedly jumping up to object to the defendant's line of questioning..

The judge also seemed to be losing patience with Thompson and his rambling and redundant cross examination of the detective.

“Different topic. Don’t come back to that topic, please,” the judge told Thompson.

When the defendant suggested the detective was making assumptions about who broke into the victim's truck, she said the evidence was pretty clear.

“I couldn't tell if you had a screwdriver in your hand or what. But I have to admit, you were very good at it. You got into that truck in four seconds,” Benton said.

Jason Shelton, Richey’s co-worker and friend, said he couldn't believe Thompson’s courtroom performance.

'He's jumping all over the grid. It's nonsense,” he said. “The judge was reprimanding him for his actions in the courtroom.”

Shelton was with Richey the day he was shot and killed.

“Josh just ran up and slapped the glass to get his attention and yell, ‘Hey.’ I saw the guy turn, and Josh got hit, yelled out and hit the ground, and I dove for cover,” he said.

Shelton, who held his dying friend in arms, want justice for him and his family.

“He was a man with four children just trying to work and provide for his family,” Shelton said.

A second man, Shontavius Chesnut, was also arrested in this case. He's accused of driving the getaway car from scene and is also on trial for murder.

Cox Media Group