Trial to resume Monday in case against Bradenton man charged in fatal shooting of pregnant woman

BRADENTON -- With a handful of witnesses left to testify for the defense in the case against a Bradenton man charged in the fatal shooting of a pregnant 19-year-old Bradenton woman, testimony did not conclude on schedule and will resume Monday.

Everrick Houston, 33, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed burglary. If the jury finds him guilty, he faces life in prison without parole.

In the wee hours of July 12, 2009, Crystal Johnson was shot when at least two masked men stormed into the home she shared with her mother, sister and boyfriend, the father of her unborn child. Johnson's boyfriend, Lawrence Funsch returned fire on the suspects.

Johnson was rushed to Manatee Memorial Hospital, where she died. Her baby, Lariah Faith Funsch, was then delivered by emergency C-section and was taken to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. Lariah died eight hours later.

The state concluded presenting its case against Houston Friday afternoon, after

substantial testimony and delays mid-week because the lead defense attorney was involved in a car accident.

The defense began calling its witnesses, and called one former pennitentiary inmate before the state rested its case because of a scheduling issue. Keon Brown, a former federal inmate who resided at Oakdale Federal Correctional Institution in central Louisiana, testified via video conferencing.

Assistant Public Defender Anne Hunter questioned Brown if Houston had spent a lot of time with Bruce Canestra, an inmate who had testified earlier in the week that Houston had told him while they worked out about shooting Johnson.

"No, not all," Brown answered.

She also asked him who was closest to Houston while they were incarcerated together at Oakdale.

"Me," Brown said.

Assistant State Attorney Art Brown later questioned him about being friends with Houston and whether he would keep information revealed by Houston as a result.

"Even if he told me, really that's none of my business," Brown said.

Hunter followed up by asking him: "You would never lie about it under oath though would you?"

"No, I wouldn't," he said.

Vincent Duval, another federal inmate who was also at Oakdale with Houston, also claimed to be the closest person to Houston.

Assistant State Attorney Carolyn Schlemmer followed by asking if Duval, Houston and Brown were close, like "the Three Musketeers."

Schlemmer asked if Houston had ever told Duval that he had been shot during a home invasion when a pregnant woman was shot.

"No ma'am," Duval said. "No one ever talked about that issue before (prison administrator) Mr. Childress made a mistake and took Mark Houston out (of his cell) and said he was being charged with murder."

Mark Houston, who is no relation to Everrick Houston, also testified earlier in the week, saying that he had overheard Everrick Houston telling the story that he had been shot during a burglary and that a pregnant woman had died as a result.

Duval testified that Mark Houston had only learned of the case after having being confused for Everrick Houston at the prison.

Motives for testifying

Schlemmer questioned Duval if he knew the other men's motives for wanting to testify.

"Everybody knows that if you testify for a murder it's like (winning) the Super Bowl," Duval said.

Brown later asked him if he would ever snitch.

"No, that would violate my manhood," Duval replied.

Like Keon Brown, he said it would be none of his business if anyone made any admissions to him.

He followed by saying, "But I wouldn't lie for nobody."

Manatee County Sheriff's Office Detective Jeffrey Bliss, who was the lead investigator on the case, testified Friday morning about his investigation.

Brown asked about the bullet casings found at the scene, three 10 mm and two .40 caliber, and if it was common to find them at a crime scene.

"At the time, I had never seen a 10 mm casing, nor since in five years have I seen 10 mm casings," Bliss said. " I have never, ever seen a 10 mm firearm."

Bliss also testified that he was present during a search at the home of co-defendant, Gregory Kennon, where a gun magazine with 10 mm bullets in it was found in a car at the residence.

Schlemmer asked Bliss if a pair of shorts with blood on them and if a towel with blood on it was found in the washing machine or dryer in the home.

Bliss said yes.

Schlemmer later questioned him: "Drive-by shootings are fairly common in Manatee County, aren't they?"

Bliss disagreed with her.

"I cannot recall any this year. So I would not say they are fairly common," Bliss said. "They do occur; but they are not a daily occurrence or a monthly occurrence at that."

Detective Stephen Ives, who had questioned Everrick Houston at Manatee Memorial Hospital, also took the stand. Jurors listened to an audio recording of that interview.

"He advised that he was walking from his cousin's house to his brother's house looking for a ride," Ives said.

Everrick Houston said that a car pulled up and a "Mexican" male with a shotgun fired a shot and drove away, he said.

Who shot Everrick Houston?

Everrick Houston was uncooperative during a second interview, Ives testified. Jurors were also played the audio recording of that interview.

"Ain't nobody trying to find who shot me," he said.

Houston continued that he knew the newspapers were implicating him and that the police and the newspapers were working together.

"Police department is a gang," Everrick Houston said, as a juror quietly chuckled.

On the recording, Ives insisted that he was trying to find out who had shot Houston. "Because you don't have shotgun pellets in you," Ives said. "You have a single projectile in you."

In 2012, Kennon was found guilty of identical charges and was sentenced to life in prison. Kennon is currently appealing his case.

Some reports have indicated there was a third suspect, but a third person has never been identified.

"You believe there were three suspects in this case?" Schlemmer asked Bliss.

"That's my belief, yes," he replied.

Everrick Houston's prior arrest history includes charges of armed robbery, domestic battery, domestic aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, dealing in stolen property, motor vehicle theft and possession of a controlled substance.

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter @JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published November 22, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Trial to resume Monday in case against Bradenton man charged in fatal shooting of pregnant woman ."