Testimony began Monday in the trial of Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb.
Grubb is charged with murder after shooting Ta'Kiya Young, 21-year-old a pregnant woman accused of shoplifting alcohol from a Kroger store on Sunbury Road on Aug. 24, 2023.
Both Young and her unborn child died in the shooting.
Six witnesses testified, including Heather Jablonski, who was in the Kroger parking lot talking to her husband that day. Her car had been involved in a hit-skip crash. She then heard something nearby.
"And all of a sudden I started hearing yelling. It sounded like police officers, 'Stop the car, get out of the car, open the door,' that was what I had heard. Then I heard a gunshot."
Also testifying was a Kroger loss prevention manager, James Giebler. He testified that three females allegedly took $590 worth of liquor from the store.
Grubb fired through Young's windshield after Young's car slowly pulled forward.
Jurors watched and listened to body cam footage from a Blendon Township police officer at the scene as he and Grubb approached Young's car.
"Hey. Stop. Hey. Outta the car. Outta the car. Out of the car. Out of the car. Out of the car, " is heard on the body cam.
"For what?" Young appeared to respond.
Young said, "are you going to shoot me?"
Grubb fired through Young's windshield after Young's car slowly pulled forward. One of Grubb's lawyers said Grubb was justified in in blocking Young's vehicle with his body.
The defense is trying to to frame Young's use of the car as a deadly weapon.
Prosecutors said Young was not an immediate threat. In opening statements last week, special prosecutor Richard Glennon, called Grubb's actions unreasonable and unjustified.
During the showing of a police body cam video, Young car drifts slowly away toward the store. An officer says, "I can't get her out. Her foot's on the gas still." The car continues to move forward, stopping against the building.
Also testifying were Blendon Township Police Lt. Josh Rutherford, who is in charge of body-worn cameras; Reynoldsburg police officer Peter Ferguson, who responded to the scene in August 2023; Westerville police Sgt. Ryan Schleve and Westerville firefighter paramedic Alex Demidovich. Schleve and Demidovich also responded to the scene.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Collins asked Rutherford : "If you're standing in front of the center of a car, and the car hits you, do you believe at that time that there's a feasible way to use non-violent force?"
Rutherford replied, "No."
Video at the trial showed at least six police vehicles responding to the scene after the shooting.
The trial in Franklin County Common Pleas Court begins again on Wednesday morning. Grubb is on unpaid leave.
