Samuel Luke Gilmore had plans to move west, go to college and provide for his unborn child, according to his uncle.
The 19-year-old had even picked out a community college in California, where he aspired to study business development starting early next year, said his uncle, Herm Gilmore III.
"Everything was going well," he said.
But in July, those plans for college and fatherhood ended in a residential neighborhood off West 12th Street, where Samuel Gilmore, who also went by Chris, was fatally shot.
Davontay Dewayne Baker, whom police arrested in the killing, is accused of trying to sell Gilmore's vehicle the day after the homicide, according to court documents that reveal new details on the slaying and outline evidence against Baker.
Baker, who was 17 at the time of the killing, is also accused of making a call from the victim's cellphone.
The teenager now faces one count of capital murder and one count of aggravated robbery in the July 17 shooting. Baker has also been arrested in the stabbing of a man at a southwest Little Rock apartment complex in August.
Yet, Herm Gilmore said the arrest does not bring closure to his relative's death.
"It doesn't bring my nephew back. You can't turn time around," he said.
Before his death, everything seemed to be falling into place for the teenager, Herm Gilmore said. He described his nephew as a smart student who was determined to go to college and be a good father.
Herm Gilmore said he was the one to suggest his nephew move to Little Rock -- an effort to divert the teenager away from a bad crowd in Houston.
"I take a lot of responsibility for the whole thing," he said, adding that he had paid for the vehicle the teenager was robbed of during the shooting.
Court documents show that in the days after the fatal shooting, Samuel Gilmore's cellphone number led detectives to Siamone Walker. A phone number related to her account was the last phone number called on Gilmore's cellphone, according to the documents.
The woman told police the phone belonged to her husband and disclosed to authorities that, on the night of the killing, a person called her husband from an out-of-town phone number, according to the affidavit. The documents said she knew the caller as "Tae," who was identified as Baker.
In an interview with police, Siamone Walker's husband, Tony Walker, said "Tae" had given him a call from Gilmore's cellphone the night of the killing, according to the affidavit. The caller asked for a ride, but Tony Walker declined, according to the affidavit.
Police showed a photograph of Baker to Tony Walker, and he identified the person in the picture as "Tae," the documents said.
Gilmore's family members told police the teenager left a residence on West 23rd Street around 9:30 p.m. July 17 and was driving his black 2007 Mercedes Benz. Then, around 11:20 p.m., police responded to a shooting in the area of 4800 W. 14 St., where they found Gilmore lying in the road with multiple gunshot wounds, the documents revealed.
According to the affidavit, several witnesses at the scene told police the victim had been talking with people in a white vehicle before the shots were fired.
The court documents said that a day after the killing, "Tae" came over to Tony Walker's residence on West Charles Bussey Avenue. Walker said the teenager was trying to sell a black Mercedes and had a backpack and a cellphone, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, "Tae" said "he had gotten into it with some guys and his homeboy had shot someone in the face."
The affidavit noted that Gilmore had been shot in the face or head, but that information was not publicly disclosed in the immediate aftermath of the death.
"Mr. Walker advised Tae told him that he and his homeboys had just hit a 'stang,' slang for theft," according to the affidavit.
Police also spoke with 27-year-old Demetrius Clark, who was also at the home on West Charles Bussey with Tony Walker the evening of July 18, the documents said.
Clark said "Tae" called him the morning after the killing and tried to sell him a few items, including a cellphone and a black Mercedes Benz, the affidavit said.
"Tae" told Clark that he got the car, the cellphone and the other items the night before, according to the affidavit. Clark told police the vehicle "Tae" was trying to sell was the black Mercedes Benz driven by Gilmore, who he knew by the nickname "Vegas," the documents said. He told police the vehicle belonged to Gilmore.
In a separate incident, Baker faces one count of first-degree battery in connection with a stabbing at a southwest Little Rock apartment complex.
Police were dispatched on Aug. 4 to 8723 Baseline Road, where they found the victim with multiple stab wounds in his back and left arm, along with a severe cut on his abdomen, authorities said. In an affidavit for Baker's arrest related to the stabbing, police said the victim had six stab wounds but was expected to make a full recovery.
The victim told authorities he was standing outside his apartment when he felt sharp pains in his back and turned around to find "Day Day" hitting him, according to the report.
The victim told police he thought the stabbing was in retaliation for a previous incident, in which he intervened when he saw "Day Day" and another person harassing and pulling on a young female, according to the court documents.
On Aug. 10, the same day Baker was arrested in Gilmore's death, the assault victim called police to say the person who stabbed him was on the news and had been charged with capital murder, the affidavit said.
Days later, the victim identified Baker in a photographic lineup as the person who stabbed him, according to the affidavit.
Metro on 12/04/2017
