Accomplice: He said he was going to kill her for stealing safe with money

A Manatee County jury on Wednesday listened as one of the men who was with Dwayne Cummings described how Cummings allegedly killed Karl Tuxford and Jordan Finlon on Jan. 19, 2016.

Cummings is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and armed kidnapping. If convicted of first-degree murder, Cummings would automatically be sentenced to life in prison; the state is not seeking the death penalty.

Ahmad Dunbar, who had been facing a second-degree murder charge in the case, took a plea deal in August and pleaded guilty to accessory to first-degree murder. He was sentenced to credit for 18 months he served in jail, one year of house arrest and one year of probation with the condition that he would testify against Cummings.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dunbar took the stand against Cummings — who he described as having been a close friend at the time of the murders.

Dunbar explained for the jury how Finlon had been living with Cummings at the time of her death. He testified that Cummings was helping her financially, letting her stay with him and getting her help for her drug addiction. On the day before the murders, Dunbar said he was with Cummings doing work on a home in Palmetto when Cummings told him Finlon was “blowing up” his cell phone.

Hours later, Dunbar said he got a call from Cummings saying his home had been burglarized, and he suspected Finlon.

“I’m going to kill that (expletive),” Cummings said at the time, according to Dunbar’s testimony Wednesday.

Dunbar said he told Cummings to “let it go.”

Cummings didn’t, however, and called police to report the burglary. The following day, Cummings picked up Dunbar, and they ran some errands before Cummings made a drug delivery and also picked up Fredrick “Freddie” Douglas. When they began discussing the stolen safe, Douglas sent a text message to Finlon, luring her with the promise of some heroin.

Finlon, who was with Tuxford, had agreed to meet up with Douglas. The jury watched as Dunbar identified Tuxford’s Jeep on video surveillance footage shown in court. Cummings’ GMC Envoy is then seen pulling up behind Jeep.

Douglas got out of the Envoy, followed by Cummings, who got into the Jeep and told Dunbar to drive the Envoy, Dunbar testified, as the jury watched the movement on the video footage.

Dunbar described the shooting that followed moments later and how he stopped the Envoy as he saw the Jeep spinning out of control. Finlon and Cummings got into the back seat, Dunbar said, adding that Cummings had been running and shooting at the Jeep in the 1100 block of Eighth Avenue East in Bradenton.

A Bradenton police officer responding to the crime scene discovered Tuxford hanging out of the Jeep with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

Cummings told Dunbar to pull alongside the Jeep, according to his testimony, and when he did, Cummings shot out the rear window of the Envoy at the Jeep. Cummings then told Dunbar to drive to his home so they could switch cars. Once at Cummings’ home, Dunbar said, Cummings grabbed a knife from his work truck before getting into his Cadillac with Douglas, Dunbar and Finlon.

Assistant State Attorney Art Brown asked Dunbar if Cummings had explained why he took the knife.

“He said, ‘A bullet is too good for this (expletive),’” Dunbar testified.

Dunbar then detailed the time driving to where Finlon would ultimately be murdered, alongside Bishop Harbor Road in Terra Ceia Preserve State Park in northern Manatee County. During the drive, Cummings and Douglas attempted to get Finlon to admit to stealing the safe, and Cummings assured her nothing would happened to her if she told them. Finlon did eventually admit to the theft, Dunbar said.

Dunbar said that once out of the Envoy, Cummings punched Finlon and then stabbed her. After she fell to the ground, Dunbar said, Cummings began repeatedly stabbing her. Finlon was screaming out at first, Dunbar added.

Later, Dunbar described how they went to his mother’s home, where they washed off the blood, Dunbar said, and changed their clothes. Dunbar gave Cummings a trash bag in which to put the bloody clothes that they later took to a laundromat to wash with bleach.

After the stabbing, Cummings gave Dunbar the knife, and Dunbar testified that he wrapped the weapon in paper towels and later threw it into the Manatee River while crossing over the DeSoto bridge. Dunbar also admitted that a gun was also thrown into the river.

Dunbar agreed later when defense attorney DeMone Lee asked him, “The scene was so gruesome that you and Freddie Douglas went to the other side of the road and vomited?”

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Accomplice: He said he was going to kill her for stealing safe with money."