A capital murder trial is underway in the 2022 murder of a former OU football player inside an Airbnb. The case raised questions about short-term rentals. It also got a lot of attention when the defendant reportedly cut off his ankle monitor and ran. NBC 5’s Maria Guerrero was in the courtroom.
A capital murder trial is underway in the murder of a former Oklahoma University football player inside a Dallas Airbnb.
The case renewed concerns about short-term rentals and involved a suspect accused of cutting off his ankle monitor and going into hiding.
Antwan Franklin is accused of being the “mastermind” behind the murder of Du’vanta Lampkin in May 2022.
He is one of three men arrested in the case.
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During his opening statement Wednesday morning, assistant district attorney Jacob Zachariah told jurors while Franklin was not in the room when Lampkin was murdered, he is just as guilty as the other two men.
He also acknowledged the victim had been dealing marijuana.
“Antwan has told them there's a backpack with thousands of dollars in it from Du’vanta’s dealings,” said Zachariah. “In that situation, Antwan set this whole thing up. There's going to be Instagram messages that you're going to see between Eric Garcia and Antwan Franklin setting up this robbery.”
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Setting it up, the state claims, via Instagram messages reportedly recovered by police.
Lampkin, a former football player at OU with a stint in the NFL, had recently moved to Dallas and asked friend and former football player Devonaire Clarington to help secure a short-term rental.
The mother of Clarington’s child paid approximately $600 for an apartment unit on the fifth floor of the Butler Brothers building located next to city hall.
Lampkin was set to move out the day after he was murdered.
It is Clarington who discovered Lampkin’s lifeless body, according to prosecutors.
Clarington took the stand Wednesday and described finding his friend’s body in a pool of blood, adding he was so distraught he left and had his girlfriend call 911.
The victim had been ambushed and shot once in the chest, according to evidence presented in court.
Police also found a substantial amount of marijuana inside the residence.
Dallas police began gathering surveillance video from several cameras inside and outside of the building, leading to potential suspects.
They also recovered messages between the victim and Franklin who lived in the same building as Clarington.
Lampkin and Franklin were acquaintances to some extent, he said.
Detective Josue Rodriguez also took the stand and read messages recovered from Instagram accounts allegedly associated with the suspects, leading to the arrest of Franklin, Eric Garcia, and John Williams.
He also walked jurors through surveillance video he says shows Franklin with Lampkin before the murder, Franklin later helping his co-conspirators enter the secured building, and communicating with them when Lampkin was on his way back up to the apartment unit before leaving the scene in an Uber.
Two men are seen running into the unit behind Lampkin and emerging about a minute later with a backpack, surveillance video shows.
The alleged plot was for the men to split the thousands of dollars in the backpack.
There was nowhere near that amount, according to prosecutors.
Franklin was supposed to go on trial last year but is accused of cutting off his ankle monitor and taking off before being caught in Richardson days later.
In October, a jury found Williams not guilty of capital murder.
Eric Garcia is awaiting trial.
Franklin’s defense opted not to present an opening statement Wednesday morning.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in this case.
Franklin is expected to take the stand in his own defense.
