The man stabbed to death last year in a Bangor nightclub parking lot started a fight with his alleged killer in the same location a few hours earlier, according to testimony witnesses shared on Tuesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Rayshaun Moore, 35, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Demetrius Snow, 25, of Bangor, who died of stab wounds early on the morning of Feb. 1, 2020.
Moore’s jury trial began Monday. He claims that a different man, seen leaving the parking lot shirtless by the first police officer on the scene, killed Snow.
The Bangor Daily News is not naming the man because he has not been charged in connection with Snow’s death. He is expected to take the stand Wednesday.
Shelley Stuart, 40, of Bangor testified Tuesday that she was with Snow at the Half Acre Nightclub on Harlow Street at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2020. When the two left the nightclub, they met Moore in the parking lot.
Stuart testified that she had dated both men previously but was not dating either at the time of Snow’s death.
The two men, who had been drinking, got into a shoving match over “petty stuff” but they made up and shook hands, Stuart told the jury. But the disagreement got physical a few minutes later when Snow and at least one other man punched Moore several times.
“They separated and I thought that was the end of it, but I guess not,” she said, adding that she tried to keep Snow from fighting with Moore but was unsuccessful.
A nightclub surveillance camera showed that Stuart, Snow, Moore and others left at about 11:20 p.m. after a bouncer at the Half Acre threatened to call police.
Stuart said that when she heard early on the morning of Feb. 1, 2020, about a stabbing in the nightclub parking lot, she contacted friends, including Moore, to make sure they were okay.
Moore did not admit to stabbing Snow but did say he was disappointed that some of the other men in the parking lot did not come to his aid in the fight, she testified.
Both men separately returned to the parking lot where Moore stabbed Snow in the heart, lung, abdomen and arm, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue told jurors Monday in her opening statement. Moore allegedly ran from the parking lot and tossed the knife into the Kenduskeag Stream, where police recovered it on a piece of ice. He also put his clothes in bleach in an attempt to destroy evidence, according to the prosecution.
Moore went back to the parking lot because he’d lost his wallet in the fight, defense attorney Hunter Tzovarras of Bangor said in his opening statement. Snow, Moore and the other man began fighting in an area of the parking lot that was not captured on surveillance cameras when the man grabbed Moore’s knife and stabbed Snow, the defense claimed.
Bangor police and fire responded to a report of an injured man at Half Acre Nightclub’s parking lot at 190 Harlow St. at around 1:15 a.m. Feb. 1, 2020. Snow was found stabbed and bleeding in the parking lot.
Bangor police Officer Michael Pina was nearby and arrived on the scene quickly, he told jurors Monday. He first spoke with a man, who was not wearing a shirt, at the front of the building. When he arrived in the back parking lot, Pina said that he saw Snow surrounded by several people who were holding articles of clothing against his chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Pina, who now works for the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s office, testified that he also found Moore’s wallet in the parking lot.
Snow was stabbed seven times but died as a result of a wound to his heart, Dr. Lisa Funte, Maine’s deputy chief medical examiner, testified Tuesday.
The woman who was dating Moore at the time of his death was scheduled to take the stand but when she came into the courtroom, Theresa Parker broke down in sobs and was unable to testify.
Snow was one of 12 children and came to Maine from Rochester, New York, in 2015 or 2016. His mother and seven of his siblings are attending the trial.
Before the trial began, Moore rejected an offer that he plead guilty to murder in exchange for a sentence of 38 years, according to lawyers.
The trial is set to resume Wednesday morning on Moore’s 36th birthday. A verdict is expected late this week or early next week.
If convicted, Moore faces between 25 years and life in prison.