Codefendant takes the stand in New Year's Eve shooting that killed Damarcus Hartwell

A 19-year-old codefendant testified Wednesday that Cameron Jones, 18, admitted to killing Damarcus Hartwell just minutes after shots rang out at a 2022 New Year's Eve party in a Kenmore duplex.

Layveire Belton recalled the moment after the shooting when Nino Jennings asked Jones why he shot Hartwell, 34.

"You told me to do what I got to do," Belton said Jones replied.

Jennings, Belton and Makhi Anderson-Clay were expected to take the stand this week in the ongoing jury trial against Jones, their codefendant in the case.

New Year's Eve shooting

Jones, represented by attorney Erik Jones, is expected to argue self-defense during the trial, according to court documents.

He is charged with aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of robbery and one count of felonious assault.

The incident occurred just before midnight during a party at a home in the 1200 block of Louisiana Avenue in Kenmore. Hartwell was shot once in the torso and had a graze wound in his thigh. He was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where he was pronounced dead.

Jennings, Anderson-Clay and Belton all pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. Prosecutors dismissed a murder charge in plea deals that include testifying against Jones. They will be sentenced Monday in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Joy Malek Oldfield's courtroom.

A robbery that went wrong

Nearly one month before the shooting, Belton first met Hartwell, he said in his testimony. Jennings, whom Belton had known since grade school, introduced the two. In the following weeks, they hung out at Hartwell's home nearly every day.

Then on Dec. 31, Jennings texted Belton. They were going to steal Hartwell's gun, he recalled. Although Anderson-Clay and Jones were not included in the messages, Jennings told them about the plan.

That night, Jennings instructed Belton to park on Louisiana Avenue facing East Avenue.

The four friends arrived at the house party after 11 p.m. Roughly 40 minutes later, they were in Hartwell's bedroom watching television. Of those present, Belton said only Hartwell and Anderson-Clay did not have a gun.

Then when Jones raised his gun, Belton said Anderson-Clay left followed by Jennings and himself. Walking out of the room, Belton recalled turning left and sitting in an adjacent room.

"I did not see him shooting the gun," Belton said, but he did hear the gunshots. "After the shots, I saw them fighting in the hallway."

During the struggle, he said, Hartwell fell down the stairs. Belton recalled running out of the house and jumping over Hartwell, who was crawling toward the front door.

Belton testified that Jennings had Hartwell's gun when the the four left the house and that Jones grabbed Hartwell's fanny pack containing drugs and money. In Belton's vehicle, Jennings told Belton to move into the passenger seat so he could drive to his mother's house, where they stayed the night.

During cross-examination, Erik Jones asked Belton if Jennings was manipulative.

"Does he get you to do the things he wants you to do?" he asked.

"Yes," Belton said.

Jurors watch aftermath of deadly shooting

On Tuesday afternoon, jurors watched security camera footage that captured four booming shots ringing out the night of the shooting. Just seconds later, two people are seen fleeing the house. A thudding noise echoes from inside the home. Then, two more people run out.

Seconds later, Hartwell is seen crawling onto the porch, bleeding from a gunshot wound in his back.

New Year's Eve shooting: Man killed in Kenmore shooting on New Year's Eve identified

In the footage, people at the scene urge Hartwell to keep breathing.

"Come on Marcus," someone said. "Marcus, wake up."

The five-minute video ends with an unconscious Hartwell not breathing.

Witness testifies Hartwell named Jones as shooter

Savannah Oglesby attended the party and was in the bathroom at the time of the incident.

She recalled Tuesday that Hartwell was not feeling well, so he was in bed for much of the party.

"There were no fights. He wasn't threatening anyone," she said of Hartwell. "Everyone was getting along."

While in the second-floor bathroom, she heard three to four gunshots and what sounded like someone falling down the stairs.

Reviewing the security footage, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Kevin Mayer asked Oglesby who Hartwell says shot him.

"Marcus says Cam shot him," Oglesby said, referring to Hartwell and Jones, respectively.

She then identified the four codefendants leaving the house immediately after the shooting, including Jones carrying the pack with Hartwell's drugs and money.

Defense questions who shot Hartwell

In his opening statement Tuesday, Erik Jones urged jurors to consider the validity of each piece of evidence in a case made complicated by having four codefendants.

"There are four people in this theoretical cherry pie," Jones said. "What happened in that room that night? How does everything relate to everything else?"

He pointed out that Oglesby knew people were in Hartwell's room after she went to the bathroom, but could not say if anyone else entered the room before the shooting.

Jones argued that his client was not the only one with a gun that night as security footage showed Belton with a 50-round magazine attached to a gun he carried into the party.

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron man goes on trial in deadly New Year's Eve shooting