A witness who watched a woman fatally shoot a man following a car collision four years ago told the court on Monday that the accused was aggressive and almost ran the bystander off the road before gunning down the other motorist.
The woman, Hannah Payne, was hit with charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, malice murder, two counts of felony murder, and several weapon possession — for the May 2019 killing of Kenneth Herring. Payne was found guilty of murder on Tuesday after days on trial in Clayton County, Georgia.
Witness Ashley Jackson said Payne was weaving in and out of traffic to get close to Herring’s vehicle before catching up with him and provoking an altercation.
“I saw her at the driver’s side door of the vehicle, yelling obscenities for the man to get out of the car. It looks like she was trying to fight him through the window,” Jackson said.
“After she pulled the gun, she shot him and said,’ Now you need an ambulance,’ ” the witness added.
The events leading to the slaying were set in motion when Herring got into a crash on Clark Howell Highway in suburban Atlanta, and the 62-year-old man allegedly drove away from the scene. County prosecutors say that Payne, who witnessed the accident, went against dispatchers’ orders not to follow Herring but still confronted and argued with the victim before shooting him.
Last week, a courtroom heard how she’d told 911 dispatchers that the victim was intoxicated when he wasn’t.
In a 911 call played for the jury on Dec. 7, the dispatcher asked Payne if she got Herring’s tag number, local station WAGA reported.
“No, but I’m catching up to him right now,” Herring said in the audio.
“OK, ma’am, we actually do not want you to chase him. We just want you to be safe,” the dispatcher replied.
In the recording, she claimed that Herring was “drunk” and was “going to cause another accident.” She was able to get the tag number but continued to tail him. Prosecutors argued that Herring was experiencing a medical issue — which bystanders claim was “like diabetic shock,” 11 Alive reported. Medical needles were also found in the man’s vehicle, according to reports.
Another witness who testified in court described the incident as “really aggressive.”
“I thought it was just road rage at the time, and then a woman got out of the car, and she said get the F out of the truck,” Teauna McCranny said Thursday.
Payne’s team has argued that Herring attacked his client, so she was defending herself. They also insisted that a state correctional officer told Payne to get his tag number.
In addition to the 911 audio, on Friday, Dec. 8, jurors saw cellphone and body camera recordings that showed what happened during and after the incident, Atlanta News First repotted. When police arrived at the scene, officers tried to help Herring, and Payne reportedly gave the weapon to them.
The state NAACP chapter has emphasized that this incident happened as a result of racial profiling and has been actively supporting Herring’s family.
“It’s a sobering experience that the Herring family is going through,” NAACP member Tocarro Combs told the outlet.
The jury also found Payne guilty of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and weapons possession charges. She now awaits sentencing.
