Man says video clears friend in brick killing

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002 | 10:03 a.m.

A self-proclaimed filmmaker who captured a deadly confrontation on tape two weeks ago says he has a second videotape that proves his friend has been falsely accused of murder. Johnny Ashby, who calls himself Sozay Feddi, told the Sun during an interview at the Clark County Detention Center Monday that he shot two videos the evening Kris Gregory, 21, was beaten to death.

"The murder is on tape one, and the aftermath is on tape two," Ashby, 23, said.

The police, Ashby said, have the tape depicting the aftermath.

Ashby, who was arrested Sunday morning on battery charges in connection with an unrelated incident, said he alone knows the location of the tape depicting the alleged murder. Still, he isn't about to help police find it.

"If I were to die today, you would never find it," he said.

Nevertheless, police say they have enough probable cause to hold Usman Sadiq, 19, on the murder charge.

Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said that after hearing of a second videotape they searched an undisclosed location, where they seized videotape linked to Ashby.

"There's nothing on the second tape that tends to exculpate Mr. Sadiq," Monahan said. "Unless there's another tape, the second tape doesn't shed any more information on the incident."

If Ashby has a third tape, Monahan said, detectives would like to see it.

According to police, Gregory and Jesse Covington, 24, on Jan. 7 got into a fight with a group of men at the Sundance Village Apartments near Rainbow and Charleston boulevards. The fight escalated, and Gregory and Covington were in a truck that crashed into a cinder block wall.

Gregory and Covington were beaten with cinder blocks, and Gregory died as a result. Covington remains hospitalized with head and facial injuries.

Police on Jan. 9 arrested Sadiq and charged him with the attempted murder of Covington. He was later charged with open murder in connection with the attack on Gregory and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Sadiq was charged after authorities reviewed the videotape shot by Ashby.

Ashby, 23, claims the tape depicting the aftermath shows a crowd of 12 to 15 people beating Gregory and Covington moments after the truck crashed.

The tape clearly shows that Sadiq was not among those who beat Covington and Gregory with pieces of the loosened wall, Ashby said. Instead, Sadiq can only be seen punching Covington.

Ashby said he switched videotapes midway through the incident because "I knew the first tape incriminated a lot of people, a lot of people who are associates of mine, people I know."

Ashby said he has notified Sadiq's attorney of the tape apparently depicting the killing but that he didn't give it to the police because they were intent on charging Sadiq.

"The homicide guys have the second tape (that was shot) and it proves Usman didn't kill nobody," and they still arrested him, Ashby said. "They had to arrest someone or else they would have looked bad."

Monahan said detectives are still looking at others they believe may have been involved in the incident.

Although witnesses have suggested the incident was race related -- Covington and Gregory are white, and Sadiq is black -- Ashby said it was not.

The incident began because Covington and Gregory almost ran over Sadiq with their vehicle, Ashby said. He said he traded punches with the men and, in a "chain reaction," others jumped into the fight.

"Some of the people who were whooping ... (were) white, too," Ashby said.

Ashby said he began making a six-hour documentary four years ago.

"Sins and Deadly Wages" is a documentary about urban living and includes footage of other fights, including ones involving guns, Ashby said.

"That's what I do. I make video after video after video. I'm trying to get famous," Ashby said. "I want people to know that just because we're gangbangers don't mean we don't respect life."

Ashby accused police of releasing a copy of the tape -- depicting the aftermath -- to a media outlet in an effort to make him look bad.

Monahan said no one from Metro released the tape to the media.