Sister of Marquise Jones tearfully describes night of shooting

Attorney Daryl Washington walks toward the John H. Wood Federal Courthouse on March 27, 2017. Washington represents the family of Marquise Jones, who was fatally shot by San Antonio police officer Robert Encina in 2014. less Attorney Daryl Washington walks toward the John H. Wood Federal Courthouse on March 27, 2017. Washington represents the family of Marquise Jones, who was fatally shot by San Antonio police officer Robert Encina ... more Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-Newss Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-Newss Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Sister of Marquise Jones tearfully describes night of shooting 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The sister of Marquise Jones took the stand Tuesday and told a jury of the pain she and her family have endured since Jones was fatally shot by a San Antonio police officer three years ago.

Whitney Jones said she feels she lost her parents the night her 23-year-old brother died, as they’ve been consumed by the grief of losing their son.

“There have been a lot of changes. I really can’t describe it. They’re just not the same people anymore,” Whitney Jones testified on the second day of the federal trial. Her family is suing the city of San Antonio for the wrongful death of her brother.

She also tearfully described how police detectives, over the course of four hours, would not allow her to call her mother on the night of the shooting to tell her Jones had been shot and killed.

Two other witnesses took the stand on Tuesday — James Brantley, a customer who was in the drive-thru lane of Chacho’s & Chalucci’s on the night of the shooting, and Dominique Carter, a friend of the Jones family who was in the car.

Last week, a judge ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend Brantley after lawyers said he was trying to avoid being subpoenaed. A lawyer for the Jones family said Brantley was afraid to testify because he had been harassed by the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County District Attorney’s office. Both agencies denied the allegations.

It is not clear if Brantley was arrested last week after the judge’s order or if he came forward on his own. There are no records of him being booked in the Bexar County jail or the federal Central Texas Detention Facility in San Antonio. Lawyers, witnesses and parties in the lawsuit are no longer permitted to publicly talk about the case after a judge recently issued a gag order.

On Tuesday, Whitney Jones, Brantley and Carter all told the jury of four men and four women that Jones was not carrying a gun and did not point a weapon at San Antonio police officer Robert Encina on the evening of Feb. 28, 2014.

“Did you see a gun anywhere on him?” Daryl Washington, a lawyer for the Jones’ family, asked Brantley.

“No sir,” Brantley replied.

“If he had a gun, would you have seen it? Did you have a good view?”

“Yes sir,” Brantley said.

“He reached up to pull up his pants and that’s when the incident happened,” Brantley later added. “Before he could drop ’em he was shot basically.”

During cross examination, lawyers for Encina and the city of San Antonio pointed to holes in the witnesses’ testimony. For example, Brantley told lawyers in his deposition last week that he left Joes Volcano bar around closing time at 2 a.m. on the night of the shooting to drive to Chacho’s & Chalucci’s. However, the shooting occurred just before 1:30 a.m.

Lawyers also highlighted Jones’ criminal history, that a bag of marijuana was found in the car the night of the shooting, and that an autopsy report found he had cocaine in his system.

The testimony Tuesday comes three years after Jones, a recent father who was hoping to join the military, was shot and killed at the Northeast Side eatery. Encina has maintained that he shot Jones because Jones brandished a weapon and Encina feared for his life.

An internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting found that Encina was justified in using force. And in 2015, a Bexar County grand jury voted not to indict Encina.

On Wednesday, proceedings are scheduled to continue with testimony from Jenny Lerma and Carol Shedwick, Chacho’s employees; Samantha Evans, the doctor who performed Jones’ autopsy; and Jerry Staton, a former police officer and expert witness.

Jones’ parents Blake Lamkin and Cheryl Jones might also testify, along with Melkay Nation, the mother of Jones’ daughter.