Daren Vaughn was ordered held Friday after Judge William Jackson found probable cause for the felony murder charge against him. Vaughn is suspected of fatally stabbing Tyrell Swann in September.
Vaughn rejected a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to second-degree murder, which would carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
At the hearing, Vaughn sat slightly hunched over, with his head raised, a blank stare and steady blinking eyes as MPD Detective Robert Arrington described his conversations with witnesses just minutes after the incident.
According to Arrington’s testimony, Vaughn, 22, and Swann, 23, had been best friends and neighbors for approximately five years. The two were drinking on the evening of Sept. 27, a witness said, adding that they heard Vaughn say that he felt “twisted,” according to the detective.
Just before 11 p.m. that night, Vaughn and Swann had an altercation outside their apartment building, which prosecutors say witnesses inside overheard.
One witness saw Swann throw a chair at Vaughn and then run into the house. Witnesses say that Vaughn then forced his way into Swann’s apartment and stabbed him once in the left chest, Arrington said.
Arrington testified that during his initial interview with police Vaughn “appeared to be lethargic and tired.” After Vaughn was told that Swann had died, his demeanor turned “upset and emotional,” the detective said.
At the end of the interview Swann told detectives that he “couldn’t recall what happened.” Vaughn also appeared to have redness around his neck and dried blood on his lip, Arrington said.
At the hearing, the government argued that Vaughn entered Swann’s residence to rob him. The defense argued that the government had shown no evidence of Vaughn’s intention of robbery.
Vaughn is expected back in court for a status hearing on Feb. 8. Jackson has not yet set a trial date for the case.
