Philadelphia man is accused of pumping eight bullets into barber
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Eric Coxry is accused of fatally shooting Jonas L. “Sonny” Suber, 33, of Coatesville, on Oct. 21, 2006. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Another chapter in a long-running – and ultimately deadly – Coatesville feud began Friday with openings in the death-penalty murder case of Eric “Stroda” Coxry in Chester County Court.
Coxry, 35, of Philadelphia, is one of four men charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Jonas L. “Sonny” Suber, 33, of Coatesville, on Oct. 21, 2006. Suber, who ran a Coatesville barbershop, was blasted with eight bullets when he answered repeated knocking at the front door of his home in the 400 block of Walnut Street about 9:15 a.m.
The prosecution, led by Deputy District Attorney Ron Yen, claims Coxry was the triggerman. But lead defense attorney Brenda Jones says authorities are relying on witnesses who are tainted or mistaken.
Prosecutors contend that Duron “Gotti” Peoples, 35, had sought revenge against Suber because he had slept with Peoples’ girlfriend, initiating a period of violence that wounded Suber in one shootout on April 1, 2006, and killed Brian Keith Brown, 29, a friend of Peoples, several hours later in another.
To avenge Brown’s murder, Peoples asked Shamone “Kadof” Woods, 31, of Coatesville, to have Suber killed, prosecutors said. They said Coxry was hired to pull the trigger and Jeremiah “Young” Bush, 26, of Philadelphia, drove the getaway car. Bush was convicted of first-degree murder in May and received a life sentence; Peoples and Woods are awaiting trial.
In his opening, Yen acknowledged that initially the wrong man was charged with Suber’s homicide; however, he said multiple witnesses would place Coxry at the murder scene.
Jones countered that they are mistaken. “Eric Coxry did not kill Jonas Suber,” she said. “He is not responsible for Mr. Suber’s death.” She said one female witness said she saw “a man with green eyes” coming down the steps of Suber’s home after hearing gunshots, a description that does not match her client. “That mysterious man is not here in the courtroom,” she said. Jones also pointed to a misidentification of the killer by Suber’s wife, Bashera Grove Suber, who was present when the shooting occurred.
Both women testified on Friday. Suber’s wife said when she was first shown a lineup the day after the killing, she believed her choice may have been influenced by knowledge that the person she selected had just been seen with Peoples, her husband’s only known enemy.
Months later, during a second lineup, she picked out Coxry. “It had to be him,” she said, explaining that she had fixated on his lips when her husband was begging for his life. During cross-examination, Jones asked her why the second lineup took half an hour. “I didn’t want to make another mistake,” she responded.
The second female witness, who requested anonymity for her safety, testified that she was walking home and observed a blue, older model car on Walnut Street with one person in the driver’s seat. She then heard gunshots, saw a man run down Suber’s front steps and then walk toward her on the sidewalk. As he approached, she said she made a comment about how it looked like he might be running late for food stamps and he laughed, she said, adding that she noticed his “nice-colored” green or hazel eyes.
She also testified that after the man passed her, she heard a car door open and close. When she turned around a short time later, the car, “the only one on the street,” was gone. She then heard a woman scream but continued to her house.
Testifying that she did not want to get involved in the case, the mother of five said she changed her mind when she realized that Suber left behind a 5-month-old child. “I did it for his daughter,” she said. When she picked Coxry out of a photo lineup, she said she was 85 to 95 percent sure he was the man she had seen. When she encountered him in person at his preliminary hearing, she was “100 percent” certain, she testified.
Jones grilled her about the eye color, even getting permission from Common Pleas Court Judge David Bortner to have her approach Coxry and testify that his eyes are not green or hazel. Asked by Yen if there was any explanation for the discrepancy, the witness testified that the sun was in Coxry’s face and may have changed his eye color.
Yen and Assistant District Attorney Brian D. Burack are expected to call more than 20 witnesses. The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday and is expected to continue through the week.
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