Defense attorneys, though, claim Omenai didn’t pull the trigger and it may instead have been the man who set up the deal.
“The question is: Who had the gun, who was in the car and who committed the murder?” Noah Munyer, one of Omenai’s attorneys, said Tuesday during his opening statement in Omenai’s murder trial. “That’s the burden the state has.”
Omenai, 23, is one of two men charged in the Jan. 22, 2020, shooting death of Tiffany Rhea, 27, in Akron’s Goodyear Heights neighborhood. Rhea was shot and killed after a struggle with a man outside of a car while her 5-year-old son was strapped in a car seat inside of it.
Easter said Johnson denied any involvement, but later told detectives he had set up the deal but Omenai was the one who fired the shots. He said Omenai told him he shot at the couple but thought he had missed.
Easter said Omenai’s phone records showed him calling and texting Armstead and telling him where to go. She said Omenai performed web searches about the fatal shooting and tried to sell a 40-caliber weapon, the type used in the shooting.
Munyer, though, questioned the credibility of the prosecution’s key witnesses. He said Armstead lied to police “hundreds of times, earnestly, on every detail.”
Munyer said Johnson was facing a murder charge and the potential of decades in prison. He said Johnson could have been the gunman.
“You will have reasonable, logical doubt,” Munyer said. “We’re never going to know what happened.”
Armstead, who was the first witness, said he and Rhea were buying Percocet once or twice a week from Johnson. He said they trusted Johnson and never thought they or their son would be in danger.
“We thought it was safe,” Armstead said.
Armstead said he talked to and texted several times on the day of the shooting with Johnson, who asked to borrow money and for a ride. He said he told Johnson he didn’t have cash to spare but could give him a ride. He said Johnson said he could get the Percocet, and they expected to see him when they arrived at the location for the deal.
Instead, Armstead said, Omenai, whom he didn't know, got into the back of their car. Armstead pointed to Omenai in the courtroom.
Armstead said he looked at the pills Omenai was trying to sell them and saw that they were white instead of blue like they should be.
“I sensed something was off,” Armstead said.
On the way to the hospital, Armstead said, he was in shock.
“The first thing that popped into my head — I thought the whole thing was a setup,” he said.
Armstead said he lied to detectives out of fear of losing custody of his son, but then cooperated — even taking a detective back to the scene.
Munyer, who represents Omenai with Attorney Jeff Laybourne, though, pressed Armstead about the lies he told detectives.
“You have kind of a loose relationship with the truth,” Munyer said.
“I wanted to try to protect my son,” Armstead replied.
Munyer asked Armstead how jurors will be able to tell when he’s telling the truth and when he’s lying.
“I’m telling the truth right now,” Armstead said.
Munyer questioned Armstead about when he last communicated with Johnson.
“Not since the day he shot my son’s mom,” Armstead said.
Armstead then corrected himself, and said, “Not since he set up my son’s mom to be shot.”
