PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) - An attorney for a man charged with fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl is questioning the reliability of three witnesses to the crime on the Pine Ridge reservation.
James Dowty is charged in federal court with second-degree murder in the July death of Te’Ca Clifford. Prosecutors say Clifford and three other teens were out in the middle of the night buying liquor when they encountered Dowty. They say one of the teens began throwing rocks in Dowty’s direction and saw a “muzzle flash” before Clifford fell to the ground.
The Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/2pCbsV0 ) reports defense attorney Jennifer Albertson described the three witnesses as drunken teenagers and questioned whether they had clearly seen the shooter in the dark from a distance. The trial is expected to last through the week.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, https://www.rapidcityjournal.com
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