THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210377
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: SALISBURY, MD. LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
A man accused of killing a rival and wounding two others during a shooting at a shopping mall crowded with Christmas shoppers acted in self-defense, his attorney said Monday during opening arguments of his trial.
Gabriel A. Cannon, 23, of Norfolk doesn't deny he opened fire at the Centre at Salisbury mall Dec. 23 while about 5,000 people were shopping, defense attorney William A. Lee Clark III said in Wicomico County Circuit Court.
But Cannon fired the shots after he was confronted by a group of men who reportedly beat and robbed him several months before, Clark said.
Roy Davis III, 21, of Salisbury, was killed during the shooting. Davis' friend, LyByant Graham, 20, was wounded, as was a bystander, Anthony Waters, 27, who was shopping with his wife.
Cannon and a companion, Terry Teagle, were charged with first-degree murder. Teagle, 20, of Salisbury, was accused of being with Cannon at the time of the shooting and fleeing with him to Norfolk, where both men were apprehended and brought back to Salisbury.
The shooting occurred after a chance meeting in the mall between Davis and Cannon. Cannon was beaten and robbed in July while in a house outside Salisbury. Davis, Graham and four other people were charged with those crimes.
Prosecutors on Monday called 18 witnesses to the stand including Graham, who has recovered from his gunshot wound to the abdomen. Graham offered no explanation to why Cannon started shooting.
KEYWORDS: MURDER TRIAL SHOOTING by CNB