Circumstantial evidence ‘fits together like a puzzle,’ so Fresno judge sets murder trial
Two Fresno brothers who are accused of killing one man and wounding another will be put on trial for murder, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
Ryan Segura, 31, and Anthony Segura, 32, are charged with the shooting death of 25-year-old Kenyatta Williams and the wounding of his brother, Charles Williams, 27.
The shooting took place last year on Dec. 8 at a southeast Fresno apartment complex.
Defense attorneys Gerald Schwab and Alex Martin tried to convince the judge that the District Attorney’s Office didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute their clients. Schwab said police did not find the murder weapon, there are no witnesses identifying either brother as the shooter and no one has confessed to the crime.
The evidence introduced by prosecutor Kaitlin Drake during the three-day preliminary hearing was all circumstantial, Schwab said.
Judge Alvin Harrell III agreed that much of the evidence was circumstantial, but said that when pieced together it was overwhelming.
“It all fits together like a puzzle,” he said.
Harrell said one of the key pieces of evidence is home surveillance video showing what is believed to be Ryan Segura slipping into the courtyard of a neighboring apartment complex. Segura walks out of the frame of the video, but a few seconds later, five loud gunshots are heard and Segura is seen running to a waiting car.
Detective Michael Beruman testified that he believes Ryan Segura walked up to a fence separating the complexes, aimed his gun over it and fired five shots in rapid succession. He then ran to a light-colored Oldsmobile driven by his brother Anthony. Police found five spent casings near the fence.
A second video clip shows a man wearing similar clothes to the suspect getting out of a light-colored Oldsmobile near the scene of the shooting. The suspect steps out briefly, then gets back in the car that drives away.
Drake said detectives showed stills from the video to the Seguras’ mother and she identified Ryan as the person who got out of the car that belonged to Anthony.
What remains unclear is the exact motive for the shooting. During their investigation, police became aware that the Seguras are cousins to Christopher Hall. At the time of the shooting, Hall shared an apartment with his girlfriend on the second floor, directly above the unit where the shooting happened.
Hall acknowledged in an interview with Beruman that he’s had issues with the family who lived below him. Earlier that day, Hall called police because he was concerned someone in the downstairs apartment had a gun and was going to use it against him. Police responded but no gun was found.
Hall also told detectives that Ryan Segura visited him the day of the shooting and his cousin might have had a disagreement with one of the shooting victims.
Hall denied having any involvement in the shooting during his testimony on Thursday.
The Seguras’ next court hearing is March 23 in Department 33. They will remain in the Fresno County Jail with bail set at $2 million each.
