Attorney: Witnessses have motive to lie

Wednesday, June 19, 2002 | 10:24 a.m.

Two key witnesses in the trial of a North Las Vegas man accused of killing a young mother have already confessed their guilt and have a motive to lie, a defense attorney told jurors Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege that Miranda Johnson, 21, was holding her 3-week-old baby in her arms when James Turner Jr. shot her between the eyes last July.

Turner, who faces the death penalty, was angry that Johnson's husband, Edward Wiggins, would not sign a recording contract with his rap label, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said in opening arguments Tuesday.

Curtis Powers, 23, and Marcus Lowe, 23, who are also tied to the music industry, have pleaded guilty to being accessories to murder in the case and are expected to testify against Turner.

Powers and Lowe fled the state and were arrested in Kentucky six months after the slaying . All three men were seen near the apartment at the time of the murder by Johnson's neighbors, Kane said.

After their arrest Powers and Lowe gave police one of two guns used in the shooting and "cut a deal with the state," to testify against Turner, Deputy Public Defender Drew Christensen said.

Both men face prison terms of one to five years when sentenced next month.

"We are going to challenge the credibility of these two witnesses, upon whom the state of Nevada has based their entire case," Christensen said. "It is they, more than anyone else, who have something to lose, they more than anyone else, who have something to gain by corroborating together."

In addition to the testimony of Powers and Lowe, Kane told jurors they will hear threatening voice mail messages reportedly left by Turner for Wiggins before the shooting.

Kane said the jury will also hear calls made from the Clark County Detention Center by Turner in which he tried to bully his girlfriend and uncle into not showing up for court to testify.

Kane said Turner left a message on Wiggins' phone the day of the slaying that he was coming to get him and to "tell your (expletive) not to open the door when I get there."

Wiggins was on the phone to his wife when she was shot.