After Dover left an apartment full of people without offering to share his drugs, “the defendant was upset,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Lawson. “At that point, the defendant starts making comments about how those actions get a person robbed.”
In her opening statements, Lawson told the jury through the course of the trial they would watch the case against Bruce come together like watching a painter leading up to the final image.
Bruce’s attorney Mackenzie Frizzell compared the case to a puzzle with too many pieces missing to see the full image.
“Tyjuan Bruce is innocent, both factually and under the law,” she said. “What happened on Dec. 5, 2018 — I don’t think we’ll ever be certain what happened. There’s too much doubt. One thing we can be certain of is Tyjuan is not guilty of killing Egerton Dover. He’s not guilty of any crime.”
The defendant’s two murder counts are considered forcible felonies involving home invasion and robbery. This indicates Bruce, or someone for whom Bruce was legally accountable, is accused of committing the crime of home invasion which caused Dover’s death and the crime of robbery which caused the death.
Bruce is one of three Decatur men believed to be involved in Dover’s death. His co-defendant, Anthony Grampsas, was found guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion when a McLean County jury returned a verdict July 23.
“I do not anticipate that through this trial you’re going to hear any testimony the defendant pulled the trigger on the firearm that killed Egerton Dover,” Lawson told the jury. “But what you will hear, what the evidence will support is that the defendant really wanted that weed that night — that the defendant was upset, mad even, when Egerton left without giving him or selling to him the marijuana that he expected, and that the defendant just could not let it go.”
Frizzell said the state will not present any direct evidence linking Bruce to the shooting, only “speculation, innuendo, supposition.”
As part of the state's evidence, Lawson said the jury will see a photo from social media that shows Bruce with a belt believed to be taken from Dover's home after he was killed.
The trial is set to continue Wednesday.
Photos: Opening statements begin Tyjuan Bruce's murder trial Tuesday
See photos: Tyjuan Bruce murder trial gets underway
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Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.
Tyjuan Bruce, left, sits next to attorneys Mackenzie Frizzell and Mark Messman on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, during opening statements in Bruce's murder trial at the McLean County Law and Justice Center in Bloomington. Bruce, 21, of Decatur, is charged with first-degree murder, home invasion and robbery in the Dec. 5, 2018, shooting death of Egerton Dover, 20, of Bloomington.
McLean County Assistant State's Attorney Mary Lawson speaks while Judge Scott Drazewski, background left, listens Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, during opening statements of Tyjuan Bruce's murder trial at the county's Law and Justice Center in Bloomington. Bruce, 21, of Decatur, is charged with first-degree murder, home invasion and robbery in the Dec. 5, 2018, shooting death of Egerton Dover, 20, of Bloomington.
Attorney Mackenzie Frizzell delivers opening statements in defense of her client, Tyjuan Bruce, 21, during his murder trial Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, at the McLean County Law and Justice Center, Bloomington. Bruce, of Decatur, is charged with first-degree murder, home invasion and robbery in the Dec. 5, 2018, shooting death of Egerton Dover, 20, of Bloomington.