Defendant testifies in trial for Kilgore man accused of fatal shooting over nude photos

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - It is day three of a trial for a Kilgore man accused in a 2015 murder, where a man was found in a truck with a gunshot wound to the head.

Jessie Clifford Brown, 42, was arrested in Oct. 2017 for the murder of John Allen Franco, of Liberty City.

Thursday morning began with law enforcement testifying about a single action revolver found in Brown’s residence.

Several others were called to the stand, including a woman who said she bought drugs with Franco. She said she was in the vehicle when Franco was shot. The truck was in reverse, and they ended up flipping into a ravine.

Thursday afternoon, Brown took the stand for questioning. He said he did not kill Franco, and could not recall where he was the day of the fatal shooting. According to Brown, he would never hurt anyone. When asked if the person who killed Franco should be accused of murder, he said yes.

In May of 2015, investigators discovered Franco in his truck with a single gunshot wound to the upper left side of his head, according to an arrest warrant. A witness claimed Brown and two other men had pulled up next to them, when Brown allegedly got out and shot Franco through the driver’s side window. The witness told the investigator that Brown wanted to assault Franco because Franco had threatened to show nude photos of his stepdaughter, who the documents allege Franco formerly had a relationship with.

Court is set to return at 8:30 a.m. Friday.