The witness who was shot dead just days after testifying during Amber Guyger’s murder had fled Texas to avoid taking the stand because he feared he would be harmed due to a previous attempt on his life.
Joshua Brown, 28, was gunned down on Friday in Dallas just days after his evidence helped convict Guyger of the murder of her upstairs neighbor Botham Jean.
Brown was reluctant to testify during Guyger’s trial and had repeatedly expressed concerns for his safety to prosecutors and even the judge.
When he did testify on day two of Guyger’s trial, Brown broke down speaking about the night Jean was killed and had take a brief break to compose himself.
Judge Tammy Kemp was captured on camera at the time saying ‘I’m surprised he came’ after Brown had left the courtroom.
In the days since his murder, a fuller picture has emerged of the fear Brown faced in the lead up to the trial and the extreme steps he took to avoid being associated with the highly-publicized case.
Joshua Brown, 28, was gunned down on Friday in Dallas just days after his evidence helped convict Amber Guyger of the murder of her upstairs neighbor Botham Jean
Brown narrowly escaped death in November last year following a shooting outside a Dallas nightclub. He was shot in the foot and his 25-year-old friend was killed.
Lee Merritt, an attorney for Brown’s family, said Brown constantly feared the people behind the shooting continued to mean him harm.
Merritt said Brown, who lived next door to Jean and heard the gunshots the night Guyger killed him in September 2018, was conflicted when prosecutors approached him to testify at the cop’s trial.
Brown told prosecutors and the court about the dangers he felt associated with testifying at a public trial, according to Merritt.
‘Ultimately he decided that it was just too dangerous. He left the state and was in California on the day the trial began,’ Merritt said.
His family’s attorney said Brown was in California on the first of Guyger’s trial but that prosecutors allegedly threatened to issue a warrant for his arrest if he didn’t show up the following day.
‘He got on a plane and came straight from the airport to the courthouse,’ Merritt said. ‘I believe he met with the judge in her chambers (on the record) and reiterated his concern about testifying.’
Brown took to the stand wearing a Dragon Ball Z t-shirt and shorts.
When he did testify on day two of Guyger’s trial, Brown broke down speaking about the night Jean was killed and had take a brief break to compose himself. Judge Tammy Kemp was captured on camera at the time saying ‘I’m surprised he came’ after Brown had left the courtroom
Unlike other witnesses before him, he wasn’t sworn in under oath in front of those present.
Instead, Judge Kemp said: ‘You have already been sworn and are still under oath’.
He went on to testify that he heard two gunshots and a commotion in the hallway the night Guyger shot dead Jean.
S. Lee Merritt, an attorney representing Brown’s family, said the 28-year-old had fled Texas to avoid taking the stand at Guyger’s trial because he feared he would be harmed due to a previous attempt on his life
Brown started crying when he was asked about the victim.
He said he had met Jean for the first time on the day he was killed but was used to hearing the 26-year-old sing Gospel music and Drake songs in the mornings.
Judge Kemp then called for a short recess so Brown could compose himself.
Brown was shot dead outside a different Dallas apartment complex several days later.
Police, so far, have not revealed if they have any suspects.
Merritt pointed out that the court has mechanisms to limit the exposure of witnesses and more should have been done to protect Brown given his concerns.
‘(The court) took steps to cut off cameras and instruct media not to report on an undercover cop that testified in Guyger’s trial,’ Merritt said.
‘Why weren’t the same measures taken to protect Joshua Brown? Brown’s testimony was powerful but it was also duplicative. Nothing he testified to couldn’t have been brought in by other witnesses.
‘It wasn’t worth his life.’
Amber Guyger was last week found guilty of shooting dead Botham Jean. Brown had testified during her murder trial that he heard two gunshots and a commotion in the hallway the night Guyger shot dead Jean
Brown narrowly escaped death in November last year following a shooting outside a Dallas nightclub. He was shot in the foot and his 25-year-old friend was killed. Lee Merritt, an attorney for Brown’s family, said Brown constantly feared the people behind the shooting continued to mean him harm
Brown was due to be one of the first witnesses to testify in an upcoming wrongful death lawsuit brought against the Dallas Police Department by the Jean’s family after Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Jean’s family is suing the city after claiming that police failed to properly train Guyger before she shot him dead in his own apartment.
Merritt has previously called Brown’s death an ‘assassination’.
He has also refused to rule out that police were somehow involved in the shooting that took Brown’s life.
‘I am not saying that law enforcement played a role in the murder of Joshua Brown. I am saying that the possibility of law enforcement involvement cannot be ruled out at this point,’ he said.
‘Anyone who is murdered days after testifying in a murder trial naturally implicates the person or persons he testified against in the murder. There are no suspects and no leads currently in the murder of Joshua Brown. That means investigators are responsible for turning over every stone.
‘Moreover, the people responsible for investigating this case can not be the same people implicated by the proximity to the trial. In other words, Dallas PD should not be investigating this murder. The case should be turned over to an outside agency like the sheriff’s department, FBI or DOJ.’
Brown was shot in the parking lot of the Atera apartment complex in Dallas’s upscale Medical District at about 10.30pm on Friday.
He was rushed to nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital where he died from his injuries.
Witnesses say they heard several gunshots and saw a silver sedan speeding out of the apartment complex’s parking lot shortly after.
Brown was shot in the parking lot of the Atera apartment complex (above) in Dallas’s upscale Medical District at about 10.30pm on Friday