Du’Vonta Lampkin captial murder trial begins
2nd suspect in Du’Vonta Lampkin murder to face trial
Antwan Franklin, one of the men charged with the capital murder of popular North Texas football player Du’Vonta Lampkin goes on trial in Dallas on Wednesday.
DALLAS - The second man charged in the capital murder of popular North Texas football player Du’Vonta Lampkin goes on trial in Dallas on Wednesday.
Antwan Franklin was one of three men charged in Lampkin’s May 2022 murder, a case where FOX 4 viewers played an instrumental role after watching a Trackdown segment.
The viewers helped U.S. Marshals capture Franklin after he was on the run for more than a year.
Another suspect, Erik Garcia, has yet to stand trial.
The first man to go to trial, John Williams, was ultimately found not guilty.
But the state said it has evidence that Franklin and Garcia worked together to rob and kill Lampkin, who had returned home to North Texas after playing three years for Oklahoma and briefly with the Tennessee Titans.
Du'Vonta Lampkin
"Any and all evidence that they have, especially direct evidence, will be put on first," said Anthony Farmer, a defense attorney not involved in the case.
Video featured on Trackdown showed two men entering the Airbnb where Lampkin was staying and one man leaving with Lampkin’s backpack. His friends said it was loaded with cash.
Police said Franklin knew Lampkin on some level and hung out with him before the incident.
The state is expected to submit evidence that they said links Franklin and Garcia to the crime.
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"The text messages, the social media posts will pretty much be a summary of the state’s evidence in that case. All very damming evidence," Farmer said.
Franklin, after being arrested and released on bond, disappeared for more than a year. He was featured on Trackdown a second time this summer.
"In June of 2023, he cut his ankle monitor off," Officer B.K. Nelson with the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force told FOX 4 in July.
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That same month, a woman driving an SUV with Franklin inside got away from police trying to grab him in Mesquite.
But a FOX 4 viewer who saw the segment contact the U.S. Marshals and Franklin was arrested by Richardson police at an apartment complex.
A man named John Williams was also arrested and implicated in the crime by Franklin.
But as his trial began, the judge declared a mistrial. And when the case went to trial for a second time, Williams was found not guilty.
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Farmer said that’s not likely to happen in Franklin’s case with 265th State District Court Judge Jennifer Bennett presiding.
"This trial will be much more difficult for the defense," he said.
Opening testimony for Franklin’s trial is set to begin on Wednesday morning.