Bryant Lamont Bowens, a 28-year-old Greensboro resident, was charged with murder of NC A&T student, Christopher Jerome Harmon.
Along with first-degree murder, Bowens was also charged with being a habitual felon and possession of a firearm as a felon. The trail began on Oct. 25 in the Guilford County Courthouse.
This was a non-capital case meaning that if convicted, Bowens would face life in prison as opposed to facing the death penalty.
Defense attorneys Wayland Cooke and Walt Jones based the case on identification and tried to prove that the District Attorney Howard Newman’s witnesses were under the influence of alcohol and wrongly identified the suspect.
The prosecution used five key witnesses to prove that the suspect was in fact the individual that killed Christopher Jerome Harmon in a parking lot near the Enigma nightclub on Patterson Avenue on Jan. 26, 2003.
The jury was selected on Monday. The jury consisted of one black, eleven whites, six women and six men. Two of the jurors had ties to A&T.
Monday consisted of jury selection, questioning of officers who arrived first on the scene, and the calling of key witnesses.
Gary Champion, a former A&T student and friend of Harmon, took the stand first for the prosecution. According to Champion the night was a normal night and the club was crowded as usual.
“The club was packed and alot of people were drunk,” Champion said. “LJ (Larry Bishop) was helping me walk to the car because I was drunk and when I got into the seat, shots were fired.”
The defense countered Champion’s statement by reiterating his state of drunkenness. Champion did give a description of the suspected shooter to authorities.
He was a dark male about 5’9-6’0 and weighed between 150-200 pounds and also had long hair,” Champion said. He also stated that he did not see the shooter and he heard this from people in the vicinity of the incident.
Larry Bishop (LJ) took the stand next for the prosecution. He stated to the jury that Harmon was his cousin and also a valedictorian of his high school. When asked if he had consumed any alcohol before going to the club, Bishop responded by saying, “I had a couple of drinks before the club, but I wasn’t drunk.”
According to Bishop, they exited the club and saw two females standing near their car. Bishop told authorities that he asked the females to ignore Champion, who was drunk.
“I put Gary into the car and then I heard the shots,” Bishop said. “I was in shock of what had happened,” Bishop also added.
Witnesses claimed that a light-colored SUV pulled up in front of the victim’s green Dodge Intrepid. Many believed that they saw the shooter wearing a red leather coat with NBA team logos.
After the tragic incident, authorities were searching for answers and leads to catch the suspected murderer of Harmon. While authorities investigated, family and friends helped secure key information.
“I saw the van that was parked next to Chris’ car at the club. I got a partial license plate number and gave it to Detective Rankin,” says Bishop. “There were more than three people in the van and some of them were females,” Bishop added.
Lance Gainer then took the stand and was asked if the gentleman who shot Harmon was in the courtroom and if so to identify him. Gainer then pointed out Bowens, and also stated that he was the man wearing the leather coat with NBA logos on it as well.
Gainer stated that Harmon tried to break up an argument between the females and Champion outside the club.
“Chris tried to diffuse an argument and then three shots were fired,” says Gainer. “I tried to go the opposite direction of the shots and once I got up, I saw Chris had been shot in the head,” Gainer added.
Mario Edwards, another key prosecution witness, picked Bowens out of a photo line-up.
“When I picked up that paper I recognized him automatically,” says wards. The defense then asked if the witnesses had discussed the case.
“We talk about how unnecessary the situation was,” Edwards replied.
Other officers, experts, and representatives testified on the prosecutions’ behalf. Bowens chose not to testify for the defense, which produced no evidence or witnesses. Instead of plea bargaining, Bowens chose to go all or none, meaning the jury had to find him guilty of first-degree murder or not guilty.
On Wednesday at 3:35 p.m. the jury delivered a verdict of guilty of all charges and a sentence of life without parole. The jury deliberated for approximately one and a half hours before reaching a decision.
“I feel good and I’m glad that it’s over with,” said Desmond Harmon, father of Christopher Harmon. “Justice was served,” he also added.
“I feel great,” says Ralph Boston, grandfather of Christopher Harmon. “My grandson is gone and I can’t get him back. I’m glad Bowens is off the street before he harms another individual,” he also added.
- Julius McKinley and Denada Jackson