The prosecution rested Monday in the trial of Dexter Lewis, More than 40 witnesses testified over nine days, building a case against Lewis that prosecutors hope will lead not only to a guilty verdict but also a death sentence.
When authorities responded to reports of a fire at Fero’s Bar & Grill in the early hours of Oct. 17, 2012, they discovered a nightmare. Five bodies, all with multiple stab wounds, were pulled from the smoldering building. They were laid out on the sidewalk in the condition they had been found — bloodied, clothes in tatters, some with burns.
“We had five bodies … and no witnesses,” Denver Detective Mark Crider
That changed around noon Oct. 17, saying he knew about the murders. With information from him, police sprang into action, arresting three men that night and collecting hundreds of pieces of evidence.
A narrative emerged. Joseph Hill, brother Lynell Hill, informant Demarea Harris and Lewis went to Fero’s that night intending to rob it.
Harris and Lynell Hill have testified in Lewis’s trial.
Whether Harris knew about the robbery idea when he went to the bar remains unknown — he says he did not,
“We have a case that really boils down to two witnesses and what they say,” lead defense attorney Chris Baumann said Monday, in a motion for acquittal on all charges that was denied.
“If you believe Demarea Harris and what he is saying, then you cannot believe Lynell Hill.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Matt Wenig called Baumann’s characterization “clearly wrong.”
The case, he said, is built on DNA evidence, phone records, witness testimony and more, as shown over the past two weeks.
Despite some inconsistencies in the stories told by Lynell Hill and Harris, they were in clear agreement on what happened when the robbery got out of hand: Dexter Lewis, wielding a black knife, stabbed the bar’s owner and four patrons to death, they said.
Lynell Hill and Joseph Hill entered guilty pleas on murder charges and received lengthy prison sentences.
The defense’s presentation, which began Monday, is expected to wrap early Wednesday.
If Lewis is found guilty, the trial will then enter the penalty phase, in which jurors decide whether Lewis would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or sentenced to death.
Matthew Nussbaum: 303-954-1666 or mnussbaum@denverpost.com
