Testimony begins in long-delayed Hazleton homicide trial

Jun. 7—WILKES-BARRE — Nearly six years after police say he killed Lashaun Overton, Gene Hawkins' trial finally began on Monday.

Hawkins, 51, is on trial this week for an open count of criminal homicide after police say he stabbed Overton, 34, during a dispute at a Hazleton apartment building they both lived in. The incident that ended with Overton's death occurred in the evening hours of Sept. 3, 2015, spreading into the early morning hours of the next day.

Assistant District Attorney Angela Sperrazza told jurors during her opening statement on Monday morning that the investigation into Overton's death began with reports to police of shots having been fired at the corners of 21st and Grant streets in Hazleton.

When police arrived, Sperrazza said, they found a Black male, later identified as Overton, with a stab wound to the chest. Sperrazza said jurors may be wondering about the old adage, "Who would bring a knife to a gun fight?"

"This wasn't a fight," Sperrazza said, answering the theoretical question. "This was an attack. This was an ambush, planned by Gene Hawkins and executed by Gene Hawkins."

Sperrazza outlined in brief the prosecutors' theory of the case: Hawkins had been at a party at Overton's apartment when an argument broke out between the two, something apparently typical for them.

Witnesses would tell jurors, she said, that they saw Hawkins stab Overton in the chest, and that Overton responded by firing shots at Hawkins before eventually succumbing to his wound. Sperrazza said Overton's single stab wound pierced all the way through his heart and caused damage to his liver.

Sperrazza asked jurors to find Hawkins guilty of first degree murder.

Defense attorney Mary Deady, who makes up part of Hawkins' defense team along with Edward Olexa, though, attempted in her opening statements to depict the party as a chaotic scene, one where people had been consuming alcohol, which she suggested could lead to their testimony being faulty.

Deady pointed out that many of Overton's friends abandoned him, leaving him to bleed out outside the apartment, but she said Hawkins stayed on scene — something Sperrazza alluded to during her opening, as she said one of the first interactions Hawkins had with police was when they saw him arguing with a pizza delivery driver who was attempting to deliver food to the scene, before Hawkins had been identified as a suspect.

Deady also pointed to what she suggested were holes in the police work, saying that neither the knife used to stab Overton nor the gun were ever recovered. She also said that jurors would not hear any suggestion of a motive Hawkins may have had to kill Overton in the first place.

Testimony on Monday moved at what can only be called a glacial pace, leading to prosecutors only being able to call a handful of their witnesses. This was largely caused by Olexa's lengthy cross-examinations, during which he repeatedly asked witnesses the same questions, earning numerous objections of "asked and answered" from Sperrazza and admonishment from Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley outside of the ears of jurors.

Two of the day's witnesses were eye witnesses, who were there as the incident took place. Lee Cain, a neighbor who lived in the apartment complex at the time, says he was sitting outside of his home as Overton and Hawkins began to argue outside of Overton's apartment.

According to Cain, Hawkins suddenly left Overton's stoop, went back to his own house, and returned with a large kitchen knife. He said he could see Hawkins lift the knife over his head, but he did not actually see the impact of the blow. Cain said several of Overton's friends attempted to help him into a car, before eventually abandoning him, with Cain saying that one of Overton's friends called to Cain, telling him to call 911 as he himself hopped a fence. Cain is the person who called 911 in the incident.

Much of Olexa's cross-examination of Cain focused on minutiae of his testimony, repeatedly asking questions about how many people Cain was sitting with outside of his apartment or what clothes the person who told him to call 911 was wearing, much to Cain's mounting frustration.

Another witness, Seth Hughes, who described himself as an acquaintance of Overton's, said he arrived at the apartment just as the argument between Overton and Hawkins grew ugly.

According to Hughes, Overton never left the doorway of his apartment, saying that it was Hawkins who said, "I got something for you," before going to his apartment to retrieve the knife. Hughes said when Hawkins returned, he was "charging" over to Overton and brought the knife down onto him. Hughes said at first, he didn't think Hawkins had actually stabbed Overton, but then he saw the knife covered in blood.

Hughes said Hawkins ran away, with Overton shambling after him, clutching his chest (a detail Cain also said). Hughes said he saw Overton pull a gun from his back pocket, firing off a series of shots in Hawkins' general direction, before eventually collapsing.

Hawkins has been in custody since shortly after the homicide, but his trial has been repeatedly delayed over the years, until finally being set to begin this week.

Testimony continues on Tuesday.