A York County General District Judge has certified to the circuit court felony charges against a county man accused of killing 24-year-old Devon Coates in his Yorktown Square apartment June 24.
William E. Burks, who is 29, faces charges of second degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and wearing body armor while committing a crime. Burks’ last known address is in the 100 block of Spring Road in the Lackey area of York County, not far from Coates’ apartment.
Three witnesses testified: the friend who told police he witnessed the shooting, the sheriff’s deputy who discovered a discarded bullet-proof vest just beyond the tree line of woods near the apartment and an investigator who interviewed the witness and presented him a photo lineup.
Coates’ friend said he, Coates and Coates’ wife had been playing a video game upstairs in the apartment around 12:30 a.m. June 24 when they heard the screen door open. They paused the game and Coates went downstairs, but soon yelled for help, the friend said. When the friend reached the top of the stairs he saw Coates and another man who wore a bullet-proof vest in a scuffle in the doorway, which lasted a few seconds. Light from exterior fixtures illuminated the doorway, the friend said, and while he did not see a weapon he saw the flash and heard the shot when the gun went off and Coates crumpled to the floor.
The friend testified Burks was the man he had seen wearing a bullet-proof vest at the apartment complex earlier in the day.
Testimony from the sheriff’s deputy and investigator revealed the bullet-proof vest they recovered near Coates’ apartment was found on top of a .380 automatic handgun that had been wrapped in a red rag. While forensic evidence confirmed the bullet that killed Coates had been fired from that gun, which had Coates’ blood on it, the weapon did not have Burks’ fingerprints or DNA on it. The bullet-proof vest did not have Burks’ prints or DNA either, but the suspect’s DNA was found on the red rag that wrapped the gun.
Burks’ attorney, F. Winslow Young, argued the witness’ identification was shaky and pointed out the lack of DNA or fingerprint evidence on the vest or gun.
