Jury begins deliberations in fatal 2010 shooting north of Modesto

A jury on Thursday afternoon began its deliberations with the task of determining how Brian Morris died. The 30-year-old man’s body was discovered shortly after sunrise June 11, 2010, along a rural road north of Modesto.

Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Jeff Mangar says James Anthony Foster placed the muzzle of a gun at the base of Morris’ skull and fired one shot. The prosecutor told the jury that Foster had grown frustrated with Morris, who believed Foster was driving a car that didn’t belong to him.

“It was his plan to get rid of what he felt was an annoying problem,” Mangar argued Thursday. He also said, “This is about the defendant murdering Brian Morris. And I ask that you give Brian Morris justice.”

Tai Bogan, Foster’s attorney, says the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. He told the jury that two other men, including one who was initially charged with Morris’ murder, are more likely to have fired the fatal shot.

Bogan said investigators failed to test all the blood spatter found at the crime, find the bullet or collect a sign with a mysterious message found at the crime scene. And the defense attorney argued that the two witnesses who implicated Foster in the murder received favors from the prosecution in exchange for their cooperation.

“There is too much doubt in this case,” Bogan argued Thursday. He also said, “This is not just one piece; this is a reasonable doubt soup.”

Foster, 52, is on trial, charged with murder in Morris’ shooting death. The attorneys began their closing arguments Wednesday morning and finished Thursday afternoon.

The defendant’s nephew, Gregory Fisher, was arrested in June 2012 and was in jail for more than a year as the only person charged in Morris’ death. The murder charge against Fisher was dropped in August 2013 after investigators gathered information that pointed to his uncle as the suspected shooter. Fisher was charged with being an accessory in exchange for testimony against his uncle.

Foster became agitated about Morris and called Fisher, asking for a gun, according to the defendant’s nephew. He testified that he told his uncle where he could find a gun. Later that night, Foster returned the gun to his nephew. Fisher said his uncle was bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound on his hand and confirmed that one of the bullets in the loaded gun was gone.

The defense attorney calls Fisher “a professional rat” who is simply lying to avoid his own prosecution. In exchange for his cooperation, prosecutors agreed to drop the rape and domestic violence charges against Fisher in unrelated incidents involving two victims, according to Bogan.

Fisher testified about being a member of the San Jose Seven Trees Crips gang, shooting at people in his late teens and what he says are false allegations that he raped the mother of his children. He also said that his family has cut him off for testifying against his uncle.

Mangar told the jurors they don’t have to like the guy to determine his credibility as a witness. The prosecutor said Fisher signed a plea agreement that was offered with the blessing of the alleged domestic violence victim. He said Fisher has put his life at stake as a gang member choosing to cooperate with authorities. “Signing that testimonial agreement is like signing a death sentence,” Mangar told the jurors.

Morris had been out with friends the evening of June 10, 2010. He had a high level of methamphetamine in his system and was very drunk, authorities said. Near Standiford Avenue and Carver Road in north Modesto, he encountered Foster.

This was the second time Morris found Foster in the car he believed belonged to one of his friends. Morris didn’t know he was mistaken; the cars only looked similar. But Morris confronted Foster asking about the car’s vehicle identification number, authorities said.

In the car with Foster was Bethanie Smith. Morris demanded Foster to drive him to San Jose and prove he didn’t live in Modesto. The trio left, but wound up buying meth at a Ceres home, authorities said. The prosecution says Foster stopped to pick up the gun before they drove to area along Costner Road near orchards just north of Modesto.

Foster told investigators that he was fearful of Morris and wanted him out of the car. Bogan told the jurors that Morris was angry and went into the store, telling the clerk that Foster better drive him to where he says he’s going “or else I’m going to rip his (expletive) throat out.”

The prosecutor asked the jury why Foster would drive Morris out to such a secluded area if he was afraid of Morris, when he had spotted two police patrol cars where he initially encountered Morris earlier that night.

The defense attorney said Morris was involved in a love triangle, with a woman and another man, Ryan Davis. Bogan argued that Davis threatened to rape and kill Morris days before the shooting, and authorities have never confirmed Davis’ whereabouts that night. Authorities have never publicly identified Davis as a suspect in Morris’ murder.

Bogan told the jurors that the prosecution wants them to believe Fisher and Smith, who both have a motive to lie, and to ignore Davis’ violent threats.

Investigators also found a piece of cardboard at the crime scene with a written message: “I had to, I miss you, I (love) you, I miss you.” The defense attorney said investigators did not collect the cardboard sign or even photograph the mysterious handwritten message.

“If this is the best the prosecution has, then you can vote not guilty right now,” Bogan told the jury.

The jurors began their deliberations about 2:15 p.m. Thursday. They had not reached a verdict by the end of the day and were expected to continue deliberating Friday.

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Jury begins deliberations in fatal 2010 shooting north of Modesto."