A key witness in ex-Dallas officer Amber Guyger‘s murder conviction last week was slain Friday night outside his new apartment complex, about five miles away from where his then-neighbor Botham Jean was shot to death, according to various media reports.
Joshua Brown, who used to live in the same apartment complex as Guyger and Jean, was shot several times by an unknown assailant at his new place of residence, civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt tweeted on Saturday night.
—Amber Guyger: Protests erupt over light sentence—
I just spoke with Joshua Browns mother. She is devastated. We all are. Joshua Brown was key witness in the murder of Botham Jean that helped put Amber Guyger away. We need answers. pic.twitter.com/5BCdkVXoQ4
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) October 5, 2019
The incident occurred just days after Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the shooting death of killing of Jean, a 26-year-old accountant.
Brown was shot and killed as he exited his car at an apartment complex, which was not the same place where Guyger killed Jean after entering his apartment, The Washington Post reported.
Brown delivered key testimony that likely aided in Guyger’s conviction. He testified that he was returning home from an outing, when he heard two people meeting by surprise, according to The Times. He then heard two gunshots and immediately ran away. He told the court he did not hear commands like “hands.”
“His murder underscores the reality of the black experience in America,” Merritt wrote. “A former athlete turned entrepreneur — Brown lived in constant fear that he could be the next victim of gun violence, either state sanctioned or otherwise.”
Although it has been reported that Brown was the victim, the Dallas Police Department has not confirmed that Brown was the man murdered because the man found had no identification. An emailed statement from the department said officers had responded to reports of a shooting just after 10:30 p.m. at the Atera Apartments at 4606 Cedar Springs Rd.
—The Forgiveness Trap: Botham Jean’s family’s response to Amber Guyger triggers debate—
According to Merritt, Brown had moved to a new apartment after living at South Side Flats, where Guyger killed Jean in September 2018.
Brown’s body was found lying on the ground in the parking lot of the Atera apartment complex with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics took him to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he later died of the fatal gunshot wounds, according to The Washington Post.
“Several witnesses heard several gunshots and observed a silver four-door sedan leaving the parking lot at a high rate of speed,” police said.
Brown attended the University of South Florida where he played football before returning home to the state of Texas where he began his own business in Dallas.
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