Prosecutor: Man accused in murder of ex-Hardeeville fire chief ‘willing to kill’ for ride
Several people witnessed the fatal shooting of former Hardeeville volunteer fire chief Ernest Martin Stevens on Aug. 10, 2017 near his home, according to testimony Tuesday in the Jasper County Courthouse.
A neighbor was watching from her sun porch just before the first shot.
Another woman heard “rapid fire” from her home and called 911.
A man working nearby said he heard seven to eight gunshots before rushing over to Stevens saying, “Everything is going to be OK, we called an ambulance.”
Nearly four years ago, Stevens, 77, died after being shot multiple times just before 9 a.m. in the Argent Square parking lot off Ulman Street in Hardeeville. He was found sitting in the driver’s seat of his blue Ford F-150 truck.
Devon Dontray Dunham, who was 28 and living in Hardeeville at the time, was arrested the day after the killing. This week, he is on trial for murder in Stevens’ death and also faces a charge of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
A murder conviction carries a sentence of between 30 years to life in prison.
Trial offers chronology of killing
Although initial reports in the days following the shooting provided some details, including how well known Stevens was in the community where he was a first responder and served as a deacon at the Hardeeville First Presbyterian Church, the trial is the first glimpse into the moments just before his death.
In the courtroom where in-person trials resumed just a month ago after being put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half a dozen people who knew Stevens sat on the prosecutor’s side of the room. No one sat behind the defendant. Everyone wore masks except those who were speaking, and green stickers that read “Please sit here keep socially distancing” were placed spaced out among the benches.
“This whole case boils down to ... Devon Dunham needed a ride, and he was willing to kill Ernest Stevens because of it,” 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone told the jury during opening statements. Stone said Dunham was walking around Hardeeville searching for a ride when he saw Stevens. Dunham walked up to Stevens, put a gun in his face, and said “I need your truck,” Stone said. Stevens put his truck in reverse trying to get away, but the prosecutor said Dunham shot until he emptied his gun, striking Steven.
Dunham’s attorney, Beaufort-based Jeffery Stephens, acknowledged that prosecutors will prove that Dunham shot Stevens.
“I’m not going to try to disprove that, because that’s the ugly truth,” he said in his opening statement. Instead, he said, he would argue that Dunham acted in a “blind panic,” which is not murder under S.C. law.
The Solicitor’s Office called 16 witnesses, including local officials who responded to the crime scene, community members who saw or heard the shooting, and state officers who said Dunham’s DNA likely matched what was found on a 9mm handgun discovered in a Savannah hotel.
Among the evidence presented Tuesday in the case were two 911 calls, both of which occurred around 8:50 a.m. on the day of the shooting.
The first was from a neighbor who testified in court Tuesday that she was sitting with her husband on the back steps of their home when she heard the gunfire.
The second call was from a man saying he heard gunshots, then saw a blue Ford truck roll through the parking lot and hit a car before stopping at the Advanced Auto Parts.
A gun at the hotel
Other evidence presented from the morning of the shooting included video footage from cameras on nearby hotels, and an eyewitness, who said she knew who Dunham was and testified that she saw him when she drove by the area.
After calling witnesses from the neighborhood, the prosecution questioned a slew of law enforcement officers.
Some were on duty with the Savannah Police Department on Aug. 11, 2017, the day after the fatal shooting, when police were called to a hotel room in the city because four people were smoking marijuana. One of those people was later identified as Dunham, who was arrested on a warrant from Hardeeville related to Steven’s death investigation.
The manager at the hotel at the time testified Tuesday that after the four people were escorted off the property by police, he discovered a handgun behind a nightstand in the room. He took it to his office before turning it over to Savannah police.
S.C. Law Enforcement Division agent Sarah Zapata testified that a DNA profile likely matching Dunham’s was found on the gun’s trigger and grip. Although the 9mm handgun has been presented in court, lawyers have not said whether or how it is related to the case.
The trial continues Wednesday.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 5:35 PM.
