By John Lynch
Arkansas Online

Terrance Reynolds was far away when a Little Rock man was shot to death during a gunbattle that wounded three other people last year, the 19-year-old defendant's lawyer told a Pulaski County jury on Tuesday.

Reynolds is charged with capital murder, aggravated robbery and first-degree battery in the February 2017 slaying of Alexander Powell "Alec" Reed at the Eagle Hill apartments on Par Drive in Little Rock.

Reed was killed -- shot twice through the head at point-blank range -- trying to save his friends from a trio of robbers he had unwittingly invited to their home, deputy prosecutor Michael Wright said in his opening statement.

Reed had taken Reynolds and two other men to the apartments to sell marijuana to his friends. But robbery was always their plan, the prosecutor said.

When the first gun came out, Reed tried to stop what was happening, Wright said. Three guns were fired during the ensuing melee, the prosecutor said.

"Alec Reed tried to right a wrong. He died trying to save his friends," he told jurors. "He made the mistake of trusting this man. He paid for it with his life."

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Reynolds, but they have little evidence against him and no DNA or fingerprints to tie him to the slaying, defense attorney Gene McKissic told jurors in his opening statement. He said police couldn't even find the gun that killed Reed.

"There's a lot of missing pieces. None of this makes sense," McKissic told the 11-woman, one-man jury. "Pay close attention to the evidence that's not here and the people that aren't here."

Reynolds was at home in Pine Bluff when Reed, 19, was killed, McKissic said. The defense attorney promised the teen's parents and other witnesses will testify to his whereabouts that night, about a week before Valentine's Day 2017.

Wounded in the gunfire were apartment tenants Quinn Chaplin Muller, 22, and Stephanie Waters, 21, along with guest Rachael Benson, 19. Muller's girlfriend, Jenny Nichols, and her infant son escaped unharmed.

Authorities have built their case chiefly on the testimony of Benson and Reynolds' co-defendant, Alvin Chaffin Jr., 22, of Pine Bluff.

Chaffin is cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence for first-degree murder. Shot in the hand during the gunfire, Chaffin was arrested after he went to a Pine Bluff hospital for medical treatment.

McKissic warned jurors to be skeptical of Chaffin's story, saying he's "a man with no options," deeply incriminated by the evidence and highly motivated to cooperate with authorities.

"What does he have to gain?" McKissic said. "He doesn't have to face the death penalty. He doesn't have to face being in prison for the rest of his life."

Prosecutors said the third robber was Reynolds' older brother, Kevonta Reynolds of Pine Bluff, but the 22-year-old man has not been charged.

Proceedings before special Circuit Judge Steven Porch resume at 9 a.m. today.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2...cused-in-slay/