DAYTON — Prosecutors are seeking justice in the death of 12-year-old Isabella Carlos.
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Prosecutors are trying to convince the jury that there were two different shooters, Antawan Benson and his brother Javen Conner.
Inside the courtroom, there was a lot of talk about weapons and ammunition.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Carlos was shot and killed while sleeping in her bed in June 2024.
Prosecutors said Benson and Conner’s gunfire missed the intended target and killed Carlos.
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Dayton police homicide detectives responded to questions from prosecutors about the shell casings that he spotted across the street from where Carlos died.
“The main thing we see is that there are at least two different types of weapons that were fired,” Dayton Police Det. David House said.
Benson’s defense lawyers asked the detective questions about the shell casings found on the porch and yard across from Carlos’ home.
House said there are multiple reasons why bullet casings can go in different directions.
“There is quite a bit of kick, as you fire the weapon multiple times, the muzzle has a tendency to rise, move around,” he said.
Police believe the gun kick might also explain why the accused shooters didn’t hit just the duplex they were supposedly aimed at.
Prosecutors sent many casings to a Hamilton County lab for examination.
Bullet technician John Hiler said the bullets came from two different guns.
“The 20, .762 cartridges were all fired by the same gun. Likewise, all the .223 cartridges were all fired by the same gun,” Hiler said.
During the trial, prosecutors also played surveillance video from the Meadowlark Apartments on Biddison Avenue.
House testified that it showed two young men carrying weapons. One is an AR-type pistol, and one is a pistol.
The bullets found at the scene match those kinds of weapons.
Defense lawyers argue that since the guns were never recovered, there is no ballistic evidence to positively identify the weapons.
We will continue to follow this.
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