Shontez Barnes told police he “made a mistake” after being coaxed off the roof of a single-story apartment building where a man and his uncle were shot and killed in September 2018.

The 42-year-old is accused of shooting Elliot D. Barnes, 34, and Redmond L. Barnes Jr., 39, both of Wilson, around 10:07 p.m. on Sept.1, 2018, at a Black Creek Road apartment complex. The victims and defendant aren’t related.

State crime lab experts testified Wednesday that Shontez Barnes’ blood was found on the handle of the gun prosecutors say was used to kill the victims.

Shontez Barnes is standing trial this week on two counts of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. He has entered a plea of not guilty. Police say they found a black toboggan cap on the roof that matched Shontez Barnes’ DNA.

RELATED STORY: Defendant in double murder hid on rooftop

RELATED STORY: Testimony begins in double murder trial

‘CHAOTIC SCENE’

Wilson Police Detective Christopher Tant testified the scene was “chaotic” when he arrived at 717 Black Creek Road, which is also known as the “schoolyard” apartments. Tant said he asked the defendant to come off the roof. Shontez Barnes said he was thirsty and wanted alcohol, Tant testified.

“His mom came later, which led to him coming off the roof,” Tant said.

After a short trip to Wilson Medical Center where Shontez Barnes refused treatment, he was then placed in a Wilson Police Department interview room. Police interviewed the defendant, who was shirtless and clad in jean shorts and sneakers.

Tant testified that Shontez Barnes said, “Thou shalt not shed innocent blood. They weren’t innocent,” during his interview.

The defendant also said he was “tricked by the devil” and “they tried to set me up.”

GUN RECOVERED

Mike Summers, a Wilson Police forensic analyst, said he found a white T-shirt on the fence beside the apartment building. He said that fence could be used to gain entry to the roof.

Summers testified earlier in the day that he recovered a silver .38-caliber Taurus revolver that police Capt. William Hitchcock collected from the crime scene.

Summers testified that all six cartridges in the pistol had been fired.

Wilson County Assistant District Attorney Joel Stadiem showed crime scene photos to the jurors. In one photograph, the top portion of glass from one apartment’s front door was shattered. That glass was found underneath Redmond L. Barnes Jr.’s body, which was slumped over on the apartment’s outside stoop.

A state crime lab analyst testified later that Shontez Barnes’ blood was found on two spots of the jean shorts he wore that night.

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Kristie Stilton asked Summers if a knife was found on the back side of the apartment building. He said he recovered a folded blue Ozark knife.

‘WE NEED TO REPENT’

Stadiem played a surveillance video recorded in front of the Midway Market that showed the defendant on the night of the shootings wearing the same clothes he wore when he was taken into custody.

Under cross-examination by Stilton, Tant admitted to giving the defendant cigarettes, water and a shirt to wear because he was cold. Tant also let the defendant use his cellphone to make some calls.

Tant told the court that Barnes said, “we need to repent” and “there was no anger.”

Police used a gunshot residue kit to test Shontez Barnes’ hands. State crime lab experts later testified that there wasn’t any gunshot residue found on his hands, but residue was found on the outside of a glove police recovered from the apartment building’s roof. His DNA also was found on the inside of the glove, state crime lab experts testified.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Derek Brown, Michael Gurdzill, a N.C. Crime Lab forensic scientist who is an expert in trace evidence, said he couldn’t say if the gunshot residue on the glove came from a specific firearm or ammunition, only that gunshot particles were present.

Brown asked Gurdzill if he could identify when the gunshot residue got on the glove. He said he could not.

HOW THE VICTIMS DIED

Dr. Zachary O’Neill, a forensic pathologist, testified that Elliot Barnes died of a single gunshot wound to his right side. O’Neill said two bullets were recovered from the man’s body.

“This is referred to as a tandem bullet or a piggyback bullet. This is somewhat unique where two bullets come out of the gun at the same time and enter the body and end up in the same place,” O’Neill said. “In rare occasions, two bullets might come out of the barrel with one trigger pull.”

One of the bullets recovered from Elliot Barnes’ body was copper jacketed, and the other was not.

O’Neill said Redmond Barnes died from a gunshot wound to the right temple but also was struck by another bullet that hit his right arm and traveled to the left side of his body.

Wilson Police forensic analyst Kim Kennedy testified to visiting Vidant Medical Center in Greenville to collect the bullets and blood evidence from the state medical examiner’s office eastern branch.

Superior Court Judge William D. Wolfe is presiding over the trial before a jury of seven women and five men. Testimony is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.