WATERLOO - A chance phone call from the Black Hawk County jail inmate to a woman in Club Crystyles identified Jeffrey Duane Smith as the man who shot and killed another man in July 2006.

Jurors heard testimony about the slaying during Smith's first-degree murder trial Friday. The inmate, Marlon Earsery, said he called an acquaintance to just see what she was doing when the shots rang out. Earsery said he wasn't sure what he heard at first.

"It just caught me off guard," he said.

Recordings of the calls were to be played later this afternoon in Black Hawk County District Court.

Police say Smith, 21, also known as "J-Rich," shot Tonyeah Jackson multiple times at the bar on July 9, 2006, after an argument earlier in the day.

Earsery said he talked to the woman and her brother, who both witnessed the shooting. The brother was the first to identify Smith when Earsery asked who was doing the shooting.

"He said J-Rich," Earsery said.

Earsery is currently serving 20 years in federal prison for drug and weapons violations. He said that at the time of the shooting, he didn't know he was being recorded.

DuLinda Campbell, another witness saw the shooting with her cousin Dorothy Simpson, told jurors she didn't know who Smith was at the time of the shooting, nor did she see him fire a gun. But she saw signs of it in a mirror behind the bar.

"I looked up and I seen what looked like fire in the mirror," Campbell said. "Then I heard Dorothy say 'They shooting, (expletive deleted) and I ran into the office."

Campbell said she later performed CPR on Jackson, who had three gunshot wounds to his arm, neck and torso.

Testimony in the case continues this afternoon.

EARLIER STORY

By JEFF REINITZ

Couirer Staff Writer

WATERLOO - Niketa Smith saw the killer approach through the window of the Club Crystyles nightclub.

The gunman peeked through the door of the Logan Avenue bar, Niketa Smith, 29, told jurors in Black Hawk County District Court Thursday as the trial began for Jeffrey Duane Smith in the July 9, 2006, shooting death of Tonyeah Jackson.

"He looked at me. I looked at him, and he looked at Tonyeah. I looked at his hand, and he had a gun in it," said Niketa Smith, who was playing pool with Jackson at the time of the shooting.

Jeff Smith, also known as J-Rich, asked Tonyeah "What's up now?" Niketa Smith, no relation, testified.

Another person who was in the nightclub, Laquanda Simpson, told jurors the red beam from the pistol's laser-aiming device drew her attention to Jeff Smith and the handgun he held with two hands.

The crimson dot zeroed in on Jackson's chest, Simpson said.

"He raised the gun up to him and started firing," Niketa Smith said.

After two shots, Jackson and Niketa Smith ran for the VIP room, and Niketa Smith pulled the door closed.

Jackson asked Niketa Smith if she was OK. Niketa Smith posed the same question, but Jackson didn't answer.

"He started to fall back, and I noticed he was hit," Niketa Smith said.

Jackson didn't have a pulse, Simpson said, and people at the bar began CPR. This was continued by police and paramedics when they arrived.

Jackson was rushed to a hospital but didn't survive.

Both Niketa Smith and Simpson identified Jeff Smith as the shooter in court Thursday. The prosecution said two others at the bar will testify that Jeff Smith was the gunman as the trial continues.

Niketa Smith said he didn't stick around to talk to police after the shooting and didn't give a statement implicating Jeff Smith until four or five days later.

Prosecutor Douglas Hammerand with the Iowa Attorney General's Office told jurors Smith, 21, killed Jackson because he was angry Jackson had punched him in a fight.

"This case is about revenge," Hammerand said. "He was mad and upset, and he wanted to get even."

Jeff Smith had been going out with Jackson's female cousin, Terrell Smith, no relation, and Jeff Smith and his girlfriend got in an argument earlier in the day.

The girlfriend called Jackson, who came over and punched Jeff Smith in the face, Hammerand said. He said Jeff Smith left and soon after was overheard telling another man he wanted to "bang," shoot, Jackson.

That night, at about 9:15 p.m., Jeff Smith found Jackson at Club Crystyles and fired four shots from a 9mm handgun.

He said at least three bullets struck Jackson, killing him.

Defense attorney Robert Montgomery told jurors his client is innocent. He said police overlooked other suspects in the case, including a group of people who were found hiding in a home on Woodmayr Drive with three rounds of 9mm ammunition, a .22-caliber pistol and a quarter pound of marijuana.

"Jeffrey Smith did not do this. He did not shoot, kill and murder Tonyeah Jackson," Montgomery said.

"This case is about gangs, drugs, guns, lies and a narrow-minded investigation," he said.

He said witnesses reported seeing an Oldsmobile Aurora leaving the scene of the shooting, and an Aurora was found parked in the driveway of the Woodmayr home with the hood still warm.

At least one person inside the house was affiliated with the Southside street gang, Montgomery said, and Club Crystyles is a known hangout for the rival L-Block street gang, he said.

Montgomery noted only four of the almost 20 people at the bar said Jeff Smith was the gunman. He questioned the reliability and motives of the state's witnesses from the tavern and said no other evidence connects his client to the crime.