ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Early Oct. 3, a hooded intruder forced his way just far enough into the doorway of a Northwest Roanoke home to fire a shot that struck 21-year-old Eric "Nike" Jones in the chest.
That person was 18-year-old Michael W. Crump, a witness testified Tuesday.
After hearing Tina Trout describe what she saw happen in the living room of a Signal Hill Avenue home, a judge in Roanoke General District Court found probable cause to support a murder charge against Crump.
Judge Julian Raney certified the case to a grand jury that meets in January. A grand jury indictment would send Crump's case on to trial in Circuit Court.
Trout was the only person to testify Tuesday in a hearing that shed no light on the motive for Jones' killing. Regional Drug Prosecutor Dennis Nagel was appointed to handle the case on the theory that drugs were involved, but there was no evidence of that presented Tuesday.
At the time he was killed, Jones was awaiting sentencing on a charge of possessing marijuana.
Trout, whose sister was dating Jones at the time of the shooting, testified that about seven people were at the home about 1 a.m. when she heard a rattling at the door.
Jones got up from his chair and went to the door, where Crump - wearing black jeans and a dark sweat shirt with the hood pulled down over his eyebrows - was trying to force his way inside. The two men struggled briefly, Trout said, then Crump pulled a black, 9 mm handgun and fired once, striking Jones in the chest.
Under cross-examination, Trout said it appeared the intruder was trying to shoot another man who was standing in the kitchen. Crump had pushed Jones out of the way just seconds earlier, she said, but Jones stepped back into the line of fire.
Crump never spoke during the struggle, Trout said, and he fled after the shot was fired. Jones died a short time later at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Trout testified she had never seen Crump before. The next day, she spotted him at a Shenandoah Avenue convenience store. He cut in line to get behind her at the counter, she testified, then repeatedly struck his open palm with a bottle of juice he had taken from a cooler.
Several days later, Trout identified Crump from photographs provided by police.
Following the hearing, Crump was returned to the Roanoke City Jail, where he is being held without bond on charges of murder and use of a firearm.
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