SAN ANTONIO – An argument in the early morning hours of April 26, 2017, outside an East Side strip center ended in gunfire and left Jonathon Ashford, 34, dead.
William Perkins, 41, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder, in spite of his claims that he shot Ashford six times in self-defense.
Perkins, according to testimony earlier in the week, and Ashford’s wife, Stacy, had been involved in an intimate affair.
But Perkins’ lawyer, Pat Hancock, said that the affair was over and the two were only “phone friends.”
Murder trial involving love triangle begins
On Friday, the testimony in Perkins’ murder trial became clinical and often complex as prosecutors called Mike Martinez, a forensic scientist, to the stand.
Martinez testified that gunshot residue tests on Perkins’ hands supported his claim that he fired a weapon that night.
“Perkins may have discharged a firearm, handled a discharged firearm or was in close proximity to a discharged firearm,” he testified.
Martinez said tests on Ashford’s hands showed no gunshot residue.
“The conclusions are that it’s indeterminate if Jonathon Ashford discharged a firearm, handled a firearm or was in close proximity to a discharged firearm,” Martinez said.
Suspect in deadly love triangle shooting called police, SAPD says
Although Hancock claims Perkins fired in self-defense, prosecutors said that the lack of forensic evidence suggests that the fatal shooting was a murder resulting from a lover’s triangle and not self-defense.
Prosecutors are expected to rest their case when the trial resumes next week.
If Perkins is found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.