In tattoo shop owner’s murder case, witnesses offer two different versions of shooting

Two witnesses offered different perspectives of a deadly encounter as they described the moment a Modesto tattoo parlor owner shot a homeless man just outside his McHenry Avenue business.

The witnesses testified in a preliminary hearing for Jeremy Don Fennell, 37, who is accused of murder in the death of 25-year-old Lawrence Walker. The hearing ended Monday morning, when Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Scott Steffen determined there was sufficient evidence for Fennell to stand trial.

One witness said Fennell was belligerent toward the unarmed homeless man, who didn’t make any violent gestures. The other witness said the business owner sounded like he was trying to de-escalate the situation, repeatedly warning Walker to stop advancing toward him before he fired the gun.

Investigators say Fennell shot Walker about noon on March 15 behind Sin Cal Industries in north Modesto. Fennell, who holds a permit to carry a concealed gun, called 911 to report he’d shot a “homeless guy” who’d “attacked” him, according to an arrest affidavit.

Jessica Estrada, Walker’s girlfriend, was with him when he was shot that day.

“He never raised his hand, there was no violent gesture,” Estrada said on the witness stand. “He went to the left, and Jeremy fired.”

Christine Hartz, a customer who had been to the tattoo parlor a few times before, said she saw Fennell walking backward as Walker, who appeared angry, moved toward the business owner.

“I heard him say, ‘Don’t come at me, step back,” Hartz said of Fennell. She also said Walker and Estrada were yelling and cursing at Fennell.

Police initially arrested Fennell on suspicion of murder several hours after the shooting. But prosecutors later declined to file charges against Fennell, saying they wanted to conduct further investigation. Five months after the shooting, prosecutors filed the murder charge.

Modesto police Detective Joshua Grant wrote in a filed affidavit that Fennell “had a malicious predisposition at the time he confronted and ultimately shot and killed Lawrence Walker with a firearm.” Grant said his investigation included witness statements, security camera video, Instagram social media posts and police body cam videos.

The Instagram post from Fennell’s account days before the shooting says that all the homeless want are “... back packs to steal s--- and hoodies to hide their pathetic nasty faces while they do those crimes .... If we can not kill them all like we can other pests then we must not feed the wild drug addicts,” according to the affidavit.

Someone who followed the local tattoo artists encountered Fennell’s Instagram post, which made her upset. She took a screenshot of the post and showed it to Grant.

The detective testified that he found Instagram comments from Fennell about his initial post, but not the post itself. Grant said he couldn’t find Fennell’s initial post, presumably because it was deleted and not archived by Instragram before police went looking for it.

Kirk McAllister, Fennell’s attorney called the printed copy of the Instagram screenshot “a social media hall of mirrors,” since police didn’t not have a digital proof of the Instagram post.

In court, the judge was shown police body cam video of encounters with Fennell after reported burglaries and vandalism at the tattoo parlor.

In a late January report of broken glass cabinets, Fennell was seen telling an officer that a woman wondering about solutions to house homeless people once asked him “Why don’t we just build stadiums for homeless people?” And Fennell responded, “Put ‘em all in there and burn it down,” according to Grant’s affidavit.

McAllister argued that the detective was cherry-picking quotes from the video and didn’t include the responses from the police officers as an irritated Fennell spoke to them shortly after finding shattered windows and display cases at his business.

A Stanislaus County forensic pathologist testified that Walker had low levels of methamphetamine in his system.

Estrada testified that she and Walker had smoked heroin several hours before the shooting. She said they met up later that day near the tattoo parlor, where Estrada would leave a shopping cart with all of their belongings. Walker arrived there, and they were going to leave on his bicycle. But Estrada had to put on her shoes first.

Fennell arrived at the business with his wife, parked his vehicle and approached Walker and Estrada, who were seated on the sidewalk behind the tattoo parlor.

Estrada testified that Fennell grabbed a sweater from his vehicle along with a gun in a holster. She said she could see the gun tucked under his arm as Fennell approached them.

Fennell asked the couple if they were leaving soon. Estrada said she told Fennell they were leaving and didn’t want to start any issues. She testified that Fennell told them “to hurry f--- up and get the f--- out of there.”

She said on the witness stand that Walker stood up and told Fennell “Just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you have the right to be a prick.”

Estrada testified that Walker had been playing a video game on his cell phone when Fennell arrived. She also said there might have been a utility tool on the ground when the confrontation occurred, but he had nothing in his hand expect his phone. Estrada explained that Walker had a pocket knife, but it was tucked in the bottom of his back pack.

She said that Walker was about five feet away from Fennell when the business owner pulled out the gun and pointed it at her boyfriend. Estrada testified that Walker stopped moving forward.

Fennell told Walker “Don’t come any closer, don’t be stupid,” according to Estrada. She said Walker told Fennell “Don’t take the p---- way out, put the gun down and fight me like a man.”

She said she repeatedly told her boyfriend to let it go and leave. After the third time, it appeared he was about to agree with her. Then, Fennell shot Walker.

Hartz, who had been waiting for the tattoo parlor to open, saw the couple yelling at Fennell, but she couldn’t understand what they were telling him.

“I heard the other guy say ,‘You want to shoot me?’” Hartz said on the witness stand. “(Fennell) said, “No, I don’t want to shoot you.’”

She said Fennell told Walker again to stop moving forward, but he said it more assertively. Then, Fennell shot Walker.

Fennell is set to return to court for an arraignment Jan. 7.

This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 11:43 AM.