Defense Attorney J. Morgan Leach, Justin Keel and Attorney William Morris in Wood County Circuit Court Wednesday. Keel is on trial for the shooting death of Terrance (T.J.) Mills Jr. in May 2022. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — The woman who arranged the drug buy that led to the death of a Parkersburg man testified Wednesday that they only planned to rob the man who was bringing them marijuana, but she became scared after the man was shot and soon died.

Opening arguments and testimony began Wednesday before Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton in the trial of Justin Keel, also known as George Smith, who is charged with the shooting death of Terrance Mills Jr. in May 2022.

Dezaray Lynn Roberts, 24, of Vienna, appeared in court Wednesday in an orange prison jumpsuit and shackles as she recounted the events to a eight-woman, six-man jury of the events that led to the death of Mills.

She had entered a plea agreement over a year ago that she would plead guilty to robbery in exchange for her testimony. She is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence.

She recounted how she was with Keel and Donavon Tyler McCune, 24, of Parkersburg, during the day on May 17, 2022. She had been texting with Mills saying they wanted to buy two pounds of marijuana and arranged a meeting in an alleyway near Covert Street.

McCune had his case severed from Keel’s last week and will be going to trial at a later date.

All Roberts wanted was a portion of the marijuana, she said. However, she was surprised when the shooting happened, although she knew Keel had a pistol.

Earlier she was driving Keel and McCune around and she stopped at McCune’s direction and he got into an altercation with a Jack Wicker. Wicker later testified Wednesday that Keel pointed a laser that was attached to his pistol at him.

Roberts said she knew Keel had a pistol and that it had a green laser attached to it. She didn’t believe McCune had a weapon.

Roberts had driven McCune and Keel over to the meeting spot and let them out. She met Mills and they began talking when the two appeared. Mills ran off and two followed him. A short time later she heard gunshots and she heard five to six gunshots.

“I was in shock and afraid,” Roberts said.

The two came back, got in the car and told her to go. She drove them a short distance and dropped them off at a nearby apartment. That was the last time she saw Keel.

Security video showed Mills running from the scene. Parkersburg Police testified they found blood along the route Mills was shown running.

He made it to 1402 Covert St. where he collapsed in a flower garden. Witnesses testified he was still awake and in pain. A representative of the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office testified Mills had been shot in the upper left back and had an exit wound in the left armpit area.

In the video footage, Mills was shown to have a drawstring backpack that he did not have after he was shot. Testimony said that was where he carried the marijuana. The bag was never recovered.

Roberts testified she tried to scrub her phone and remove any mention of setting up the deal with Mills and any incriminating contacts.

“I wanted them to think I wasn’t involved,” Roberts said.

Eventually, she had to tell what really happened and she has been in jail since. She gave her second statement eight to nine months after the incident.

She said she was scared as she felt someone associated with Mills might seek out retaliation. She initially gave police false and misleading statements to make it appear she didn’t know anything about the incident. Eventually, she named Keel and McCune as being with her.

Defense attorney J. Morgan Leach contends that Roberts has a history of lying and drug trouble and did not implicate Keel and McCune until she was told their names by the police during questioning and being threatened with jail.

He said the state’s whole case is based on her testimony which can’t be trusted as she set up a friend to be robbed.

“She was not being truthful,” he said in his opening argument. “She would lie to protect herself.”

Testimony resumes today in Wharton’s court.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com