A 22-year-old man accused of murder was arrested after a survivor of an April shooting at a Little Rock park identified him as the man who killed her brother, a Pulaski County circuit judge heard on Wednesday.
Charged with first-degree murder and committing a terroristic act, Kevious "KeKe" Montrell Foster of Little Rock is accused of killing La'Darrious Galburth, 25, and wounding his sister, Kentaria Baines 20, at Cheatham Park on East Capitol Avenue.
Little Rock police detective Matt Hoffines testified Wednesday that Galburth, a father of three, and 24-year-old Gregory Greene had been shooting dice at a table in the park April 29 with others and were just getting back into Galburth's borrowed white 2015 Chevrolet Impala when the gunman rushed up to them.
The gunman said to Galburth, "I got your b**** ass now," and started shooting, Hoffines said at the hearing, which concerned bail.
Greene dove out of the way and hid under a wheel well, so he did not get a clear look at the gunman. But Baines, who was shot in the left hip inside the car, was able to pick Foster out of a photographic lineup, the detective testified.
She had been sitting in the vehicle while the men gambled, Hoffines said.
He said a tip from a woman who knows Foster's "aunt" -- actually a close family friend who is not related -- led police to put Foster's photograph in the lineup. Foster was arrested two days later in early May.
Deputy prosecutor John Hout noted that police are investigating whether Galburth's slaying is related to other violence, including at least one other homicide in which three people were shot.
Douglas Clayton -- whose brother, Jamie Clayton, was wounded in a February shooting -- had been at the gambling table with Galburth, the detective said.
Hoffines testified that Galburth had been present at the Americas Best Value Inn and Suites on Scott Hamilton Drive when Jamie Clayton and three other men -- Calvin Bernard Williams, Kalone McGee and Michael Cordell Strickland -- were shot Feb. 17. Strickland died of his wounds.
Williams, 23, of North Little Rock and Ralph Armstrong, 25, of Sherwood were subsequently charged with first-degree murder and 10 counts of committing a terroristic act.
There was also testimony that shots were fired into the Pinewood Loop home of Foster's mother shortly after his arrest.
Judge Leon Johnson declined to reduce Foster's $250,000 bail at Wednesday's hearing.
Foster did not testify, but his mother, Juana Dalisa Ledbetter, 40, told the judge that the highest bond the family could afford was $50,000.
Ledbetter said Foster, if released, would live at her Pinewood Loop home with her and her 19-year-old daughter, pursue his high school equivalency diploma and would probably work for their pastor's lawn care service.
Foster's attorney, Leslie Borgognoni, pointed out that Foster has no felony convictions, and questioned the reliability of the case against him.
Police only have one person who can identify Foster as the killer despite having a park full of potential witnesses to the midafternoon shooting, she said.
Court records show Galburth had been in trouble with the law before, with convictions in Chicot County in 2010 for second-degree battery and possession of weapons by a prison inmate.
In Pulaski County, Galburth was convicted of first-degree battery and felony theft. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2008 for shooting a man during an armed robbery in April 2007 and for stealing more than $2,500 from another man during a March 2008 armed holdup.
Metro on 07/02/2015