Trial begins for man accused in Daytona Beach killing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Channel 9 is in court for the trial of a man accused of shooting and killing a woman last year in Daytona Beach.

Willie Poindexter's was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, which left 24-year-old Katie Burson dead.

Stephanie Tervil, the suspect’s former friend and witness in the case, testified in court on Wednesday.

Tervil said after last call at a local night club, she and her friends went to a gas station and got into a fight with a rival group.

“We all was scattered across the whole gas station and fighting and stuff,” she said.

Later that night, prosecutors said Poindexter tried to settle the score for Tervil and her girlfriends at a Daytona Beach apartment complex.  Out of the darkness came a laser beam followed by bullets that sent people ducking for cover, witnesses said.

Charlise Burson told Channel 9 she was there the night her sister was killed.

“I didn't see it until everyone was ducking and running,” Burson said of the green laser coming from the suspect’s gun.

A second woman was wounded in the shooting, but she survived.

The defense maintains Poindexter was not the sniper and that the rifle was never found.

The state is expected to continue calling witnesses all week.

WFTV