PORTSMOUTH, Va. — During day three of a murder trial in Portsmouth, the defense attorneys asked all charges against Raymond Gore be dismissed because they claimed the prosecutor's key witness was not credible.
Throughout Thursday morning, the testimony key witness Michael Canty gave the jury this week was in question.
Canty claims he saw Gore on the morning of June 7, 2022, go into a home on Maple Avenue and Randolph Street and shoot Ashley Merricks when she opened the door.
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Day Two of murder trial in Portsmouth ends with witness texting on stand
Gore is also accused of killing Oleisha Mears, Georgio Lee and Samuel Jones.
Canty claims he saw a black SUV outside the home when the shooting happened.
After Canty stepped down from the stand the prosecutor's next witness was the lead detective on the case.
This is where parts of Canty's story seem to change.
During cross-examination by the defense, it was determined Canty told detectives he remembered seeing a black pickup truck outside the home when Canty was first interviewed in August of 2022.
During one of those meetings, the detective asked Canty if the car could have been an SUV. Canty told the detective that it could have been during that interview.
The defense also questioned Canty's actions as he was texting his sister while on the witness stand on Wednesday.
Watch previous coverage: Day Two of murder trial in Portsmouth ends with witness texting on stand
Several messages were made between the two while Canty was on the stand.
One message read "The prosecution f***** up and he may get off without my testimony."
A half hour later, Canty's sister replied, "They don't make no sense. They ain't got their s*** together."
Canty was sending another message that read, "They went through with it. I'm still on the stand. I'm trying to save me." But the message was undelivered.
Once the Commonwealth rested its case, defense attorney, Michael Massie motioned to have all charges dismissed due to Canty no longer being credible.
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Warman told the Judge, Canty's testimony is still credible due to his story being consistent as to what happened to Ashley Merricks at the front door of the home.
Judge Brenda Spry, said she is struggling with the case because it sounds like the Commonwealth's case lies on one man, who has not been truthful to court and has given multiple stories.
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Jury trial underway for man accused of killing 4 people inside Portsmouth home
Spry said she would take the motion under advisement meaning she could still dismiss the case on Friday.
The defense called it's witnesses to stand which included three Portsmouth police officer who responded to the home on June 7.
Body camera footage was shown of the officers speaking with a neighbor after the shooting took place.
The neighbor told police an orange Charger with three guys pulled up and said, "You next boy."
You can then see police locate the Charger.
Watch previous coverage: Jury trial underway for man accused of killing 4 people inside Portsmouth home
During cross examination, Warman pointed out how the Charger would have been coming from another direction then where the home was located on Maple Ave.
The police officer also told the jury there was a 20 minute lapse between the neighbor's call and when the murders happened.
The defense then rested its case.
The jury will meet back in the courtroom at 9 a.m. on Friday.
