AKRON, Ohio — The trial for Dacarrei Kinard, the man accused of fatally shooting George "Geo" Jensen on I-76 in Norton in May 2023, began on Friday.
According to court documents, Kinard faces two counts of murder, a count of felonious assault, one count of discharging of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, and one count of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
“We will request you guys to find the defendant, Mr. Kinard, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, both counts of murder, and that he did purposefully shoot and kill the victim," Assistant Summit County prosecutor Zachary Neumann told the jury on Friday.
3News streamed day one of the trial live from Summit County, which can be watched below:
"He brake checked Mr. Kinard. He cut him off," said attorney Nathan Ray of the victim, George Jensen. "Mr. Kinard tried to get around him, to leave. But Mr. Jensen wasn't going to have any of that."
Neumann called the case "tragic," and added, "we are not going to dispute that Mr. Jensen exhibited driving that would make anybody upset," mentioning brake checking and cutting off. However, he went on to say that at the time Jensen was killed, the black Camaro, which officials say was Kinard's car, was in a different lane behind a truck, and had to intentionally pull into the shoulder, pass the truck, and begin shooting towards Jensen.
A detective from the Norton Police Department took the stand and shared details about how surveillance video and cell phone data was used to tie the black Chevy Camaro to Kinard, and place his cell phone in the area. He said he did not witness the incident himself.
The defense pointed out that there was no video of the incident taking place.
Witnesses who were on the road at the time of the incident reported seeing the Camaro. While some said they saw aggressive driving between Jensen's car and the Camaro, others say they did not see the aggressive driving.
One witness said they heard "pop pop" noises, then saw someone "lying in the car kind of slumped over a little bit."
Another witness said they saw a hand and gun extend from the window of the Camaro and begin shooting.
During the trial, a Norton police detective revealed that they had found evidence that showed Kinard in Mansfield earlier in the day before the alleged shooting incident on I-76 in Norton.
CASE FACTS
The shooting happened on May 17, when there appeared to be a road rage incident between Jensen and another driver in a black 2018 or newer Chevy Camaro as the two traveled on I-76, according to the initial report from the Norton Police Department.
Police say that witnesses observed a black Camaro firing shots at the victim's vehicle before the single-vehicle crash. Court documents alleged that Kinrad was seen fleeing the location, exiting onto Barber Road and turning north. The Camaro then passed by a license plate reader and was seen entering onto I-76 West and back past the scene of the shooting.
Norton police recovered eight shell casings from the scene along I-76 East following the shooting. Police say further investigation linked the Norton incident with another shooting that happened in Columbus on April 13.
Kinard was arrested in Columbus two weeks after the I-76 shooting.
The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office previously said that the victim’s vehicle came to a stop after it struck the concrete median.
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