Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 14, 1995 TAG: 9506140093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short
Goins, 21, who could face the death penalty, stared at the court clerk as she read the verdicts one by one. He showed no emotion.
He was found guilty of capital murder, four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and seven weapon charges. Goins could face 73 years in prison for each first-degree murder.
Prosecutors charged that Goins, angry that his girlfriend, Tamika Jones, was seven months pregnant with his child, went to her apartment in the Gilpin Court public housing complex to execute her entire family.
Goins killed Tamika's parents, Daphne Jones, 29, and James Nathaniel Randolph Jr., 34, and Daphne Jones' children, Nicole, 9, David, 4, and Robert, 3 - all shot in the head at close range with a .45-caliber handgun.
Tamika, then 14, was shot nine times. As the star prosecution witness, she testified in a trembling voice that Goins attacked her family and recalled how she shielded her 20-month-old sister, Kenya, from Goins' gunfire. She lost her fetus in the shooting.
Commonwealth's Attorney David M. Hicks said Goins decided ``to play God'' when he went to Gilpin Court the morning of Oct. 14.
The punishment phase of Goins' trial begins today.
Outside the courthouse, friends and some relatives of the dead rejoiced over the verdict, chanting ``Goins, Goins, Gone!'' Tamika, surrounded by supporters and with a dozen armed deputies close by, smiled more broadly as each guilty verdict was read.
by CNB