Jurors on Wednesday watched as a detective pointed to blue dots moving down a map of Southern West Virginia.
Blue represents the phone of Miguel Quinones, said former Nitro Detective Don Scurlock, one of the Kanawha Bureau of Investigation detectives who investigated the 2013 killing of Kareem Hunter.
Quinones is accused of beating Hunter inside a Marmet apartment, tying him up and stuffing him into the trunk of his car and, ultimately, burying him in a shallow grave in Raleigh County. His trial on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping began Monday.
In opening statements, one of Quinones' attorneys, Robert Dunlap, told jurors that his client wasn't at Kelsey Legg's apartment when Hunter was beaten. Quinones has been wrongly accused, his attorney says.
When he took the stand Wednesday, Scurlock told jurors that a phone number belonging to Quinones was at Legg's apartment Sept. 23, 2013, the night of Hunter's death. The phone could then be tracked traveling to Beckley and, a little past it, to Old Turnpike Road, where Hunter's body was found nearly a month after he was reported missing.
"Was that cellphone used in the vicinity of Old Turnpike Road?" asked Assistant Kanawha Prosecutor Don Morris.
"Yes sir, it was," Scurlock answered.
Dunlap and Amy Osgood, who also represents Quinones, tried to find gaps in Scurlock's testimony about his information about the phones. The defense attorneys also questioned Scurlock about his process identifying blood in Legg's apartment.
Legg was sentenced to spend six to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact to murder. She originally had been charged with murder, but prosecutors let her admit to the lesser charge when she implicated Deveron Patterson and Quinones. Dunlap has told jurors that it was actually Patterson and Legg who implicated Quinones in order to get lesser sentences.
Matthew Legg, Kelsey Legg's brother, testified Wednesday. Prosecutors said he saw Quinones and Patterson outside the apartment loading a body into the trunk of a Cadillac.
Both Scurlock and another detective who testified Tuesday, told jurors that one of the reasons they believe Quinones used the phone tracked to the crime scene was because of the patterns shown in call logs. Quinones would allegedly continuously make calls to his girlfriend, Shawnique Hudson. Even when Quinones changed his phone number in the midst of the investigation into Hunter's death, according to Charleston police Detective Eric Smith, his calling patterns remained the same.
"What do we all do when we lose our phone?" Dunlap asked Scurlock, implying that could be the reason for repeated calls.
"It depends on the type of phone," Scurlock responded, instead.
Dunlap reminded him that he was referring to an incident that took place four years ago.
"I believe even back then there were iPhones," Scurlock answered, while several jurors shook their head agreeing with him. The iPhone offers features to help owners find their phone.
Scurlock also told jurors that phone records prove Patterson was in the same locations as Quinones on the night of Hunter's killing. In a deal with prosecutors, Patterson was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after he pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Hunter. In accordance with his agreement with prosecutors, Patterson testified against Quinones on Tuesday and told jurors he helped Quinones kill Hunter.
Another man who prosecutors called to testify Wednesday, Offie Burnette, said that he was at a friend's house on Old Turnpike Road in Raleigh County watching a football game, when he heard a car stuck outside.
A Cadillac had backed up too far over a hillside, Burnette said. When he went out to help, Burnette said he recognized Patterson, but not the man driving the Cadillac.
"I saw a red spot on his shirt. He told me he had gotten into a fight," Burnette recalled in front of jurors.
Burnette described the man as a light skin African American. Quinones is of Puerto Rican decent, according to his attorney.
"I'm not positive at all. It was dark," Burnette said.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on