The trial for Deontray Forrest begins today.
Photo courtesy of Allen County Jail
LIMA — Jury selection will begin Monday in the trial of the lone suspect in a triple homicide that occurred in downtown Lima more than three years ago.
Deontray Forrest, 27, is charged with two counts of murder, unclassified felonies, along with a second-degree felony charge of felonious assault that includes gang and firearm specifications. He is also charged with having a weapon under disability.
A grand jury indictment alleges that Forrest — widely known as D-Train — shot and killed Lima resident Timothy White, 25, on Feb. 4, 2020, at the now-closed Levels Lounge in downtown Lima.
Court documents that have emerged since the shooting suggest White shot and killed Devontae Upshaw, 24, and his own brother, Terell McGraw, 28, inside the bar earlier that morning.
Forrest’s trial in Allen County Common Pleas Court is expected to take at least a week, possibly longer, people familiar with the case have said.
Officers from the Lima Police Department responded in the early morning hours of Feb. 4 to the downtown Lima bar, located at 122 E. North St., in reference to a shooting. There they found McGraw and Upshaw dead inside the establishment. White’s body was found on the sidewalk outside the bar. All three victims had suffered gunshot wounds, and all were deceased when police arrived, according to police reports at the time.
A motion filed early in the case by Columbus defense attorney James Owen, who is representing Forrest, detailed what he claimed was an account of events that took place inside Levels Lounge that put the blame on White, not Forrest.
According to that document, “inside the crowded bar White confronted Upshaw and subsequently shot him, causing Upshaw to collapse to the floor, whereupon White approached him, stood over Upshaw’s body and fired additional rounds into the victim, killing him,” according to Owen’s motion.
“In the course of firing at Upshaw, White also shot McGraw (his brother) killing him as well,” the document alleges. “After killing these two men, White then yelled at customers, including Deontray Forrest, something to the effect of ‘you’re next.’ White then exited the bar, where additional patrons were loitering. Forrest also left the bar, and while both men were outside shots were exchanged, and White was fatally wounded,” Owen stated.
“Tim White’s reasons for going on a shooting rampage, which included killing his own brother, will never be known and, in any event, did not involve the defendant. Whether or not the defendant and White engaged in any exchange outside the bar, which itself is questionable, was prompted by White’s bizarre conduct … not gang activities,” according to the document.
Forrest eluded authorities for nearly two months following the shootings before U.S. Marshals arrested him on March 31, 2020, in Cleveland.
The owners of Levels agreed following the triple homicide to put the property up for sale, effectively halting attempts by the City of Lima to gain a court order that would close the business permanently. A “For Sale” sign remains outside the building.
Prosecutors say Forrest and the three men killed in the shooting were members of warring factions in Lima and have said “all four had gang affiliations.”
