Money, marijuana and a cellphone were taken from the Huntsville home of Raemon Ross the night armed men forced their way in and gunned down the 34-year-old, authorities said.
Ross, 34, was home with his girlfriend and three children on the night of January 28 when he answered a knock at the door and two armed men came inside. Ross suffered a single gunshot wound that went through his arm and into his chest, Huntsville police investigator Julian Johnson testified. Ross was declared dead at Huntsville Hospital.
Four men are charged with capital murder in connection with the slaying that happened at Spring Branch Apartments on Binford Drive.
Charles Mosby, a 29-year-old also known as "Chuck Loskie Getdabag," appeared in Madison County District Court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Judge Linda Coates ruled prosecutors have enough evidence to send the case to a grand jury for consideration of an indictment.
Mosby is charged along with Fotino Davis, Kason Grady and Welton Brown.
Video footage from inside the apartment shows Mosby and Davis enter with their guns drawn as soon as Ross opens the door, Johnson testified. It's unclear which man fired at Ross, who was shot almost immediately. Only one shell casing was found just inside the door of the apartment, the investigator told the judge.
Ross' girlfriend told police her young son was on the couch near the door during the incident. The woman told investigators that she heard a gunshot just before the men forced her into a bedroom and robbed them. Money, a cellphone and marijuana were taken from the home, police said.
Police haven't released details about a motive other than robbery. Johnson testified that Ross and Mosby knew each other.
Before the killing, Mosby and his girlfriend rode from New Orleans to Huntsville with Davis and Brown, Johnson told the judge. It was Brown's car the suspect's rode in. Once they got to Huntsville, the suspects dropped off Mosby's girlfriend at a relative's home and picked up Grady, the fourth suspect.
Cellphone records verify their travel between New Orleans and Huntsville before then killing, then back to Louisiana afterward, Johnson testified.
Mosby's girlfriend told police that the men were gone for about an hour around 9:30-10:30 p.m. the night of killing. Afterward, Mosby called his girlfriend from a number she didn't recognize and told her they needed to head back to New Orleans, Johnson testified. Once they were on the road, Mosby asked whether a phone he had could be tracked, the girlfriend told police. The girlfriend told Mosby it could be tracked, so he threw it out the window, Johnson testified.
When she noticed Mosby had extra cash and some marijuana, the girlfriend asked where he got it. Mosby said they robbed someone in Huntsville and killed the man, the investigator testified.
Mosby was the first of the four suspects to be identified, police said. Ross' girlfriend recognized him from a photo on Facebook. Mosby's identity was confirmed through the video footage that was inside the apartment and linked to Ross' computer. The video footage also confirmed Davis' identity, Johnson testified.
The other two suspects, Brown and Grady, are held in jails in Louisiana and Tennessee, respectively. They are awaiting extradition back to Huntsville on the capital murder charges.
Davis already appeared in court for his preliminary hearing last month. A judge ruled there's probable cause for the capital charge against him.
Mosby and Davis are held without bail in the Madison County jail.
Assistant District Attorney Melvin Lockett is prosecuting. Mosby is represented by Bruce Gardner and Erin Atkins.
Ross was one of five people killed by gunfire in Huntsville during the first month of 2018. Since the beginning of the year, 16 people have died in homicides in the city.