Tyler judge rules on knife evidence ahead of Kendrick Ross murder trial

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - A Tyler man charged with murder had his final pretrial hearing Wednesday.

Kendrick Ross is charged with the murder of Demonta Jaquis Brown, 32, and the shooting injury of a woman in October 2025. He is set to face a jury on Sept. 21.

The investigation began when officers said they responded to a home just before 2:30 a.m. on North Grand Avenue, between West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Nutbush Street.

They later learned as many as four or five people were reportedly held at gunpoint before shots were fired.

In Wednesday’s hearing, lawyers for both sides discussed timelines for the trial.

The state said it anticipates two to three days of testimony, while the defense said it expects around two days and nine to 10 witnesses.

Ross’s attorney, Justin Carmichael, said he filed a motion to have evidence tested that previously hadn’t been. Carmichael said a truck that was at the home that night contained a knife that hasn’t been tested yet.

While the knife won’t be tested for DNA, Judge Debby Gunter did grant an order to preserve the knife as evidence.

District Attorney Jacob Putman said the truck is still in evidence, and police presume the knife is there, but it isn’t visible without entering the truck.

Carmichael said his client will be making a self-defense case.