Witnesses say suspect was bragging about I-4 shooting

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The man accused of killing someone on Interstate 4 in June of 2013 admitted to it shortly afterwards, according to witnesses who testified in the trial of Jerome Hayes.

Hayes allegedly followed someone on the highway he thought had just beaten up his friend at the Gold Club, a strip club in Tampa, and fired several shots into the vehicle.

Except the man who was killed was Fred Turner, 47, and not the man who had been in the bar fight, James Prather.

Two separate witnesses told the jury that Hayes was bragging about the killing, and that he even showed the gun off.

"(He said he) 'smoked' some (expletive) on the interstate," said witness Jamie Robbins.

Turner called 911 to say he was being followed by someone who was pointing a gun at him.

"If he pulls that trigger, I'm gone," he said moments before being shot.

Witnesses told the court that the participant in the initial bar fight, Ron Isgett, was with Hayes after the shooting, but that Isgett was drunk and weary from being punched twice in the head.

Robbins' cousin, Cody, said Hayes showed off the gun.

"He reached in, and showed me, pulled from the center console floorboard area, he pulled out a black pistol," he said. "When he put the gun back in the car, he picked something up from the floorboard and tossed it back over the fence."

Jurors also heard Tuesday from the alleged intended target, James Prather.

Prather testified that Isgett punched him without warning and that he hit back twice, bloodying Isgett's face.

He said that he was never hit by Hayes, who is now accused of taking revenge on the wrong man.

Testimony picks up again Wednesday when Isgett takes the stand.

Defense attorneys say he is the one who shot Turner.

The prosecution does not expect to rest until Thursday.