Kmel Davis is expected to claim he acted in self-defense when he goes on trial Jan. 3 for the shooting death of Melvin Galloway and the wounding of a second man.
Davis, 20, of 1313 Ella T. Grasso Blvd., is charged with murder for killing Galloway, who was 33, and first-degree assault for allegedly shooting the man who survived. Davis also faces a charge of carrying a pistol without a permit.
He has been held in lieu of $2 million bail since his arrest Oct. 10, 2011.
The two men were shot on Clay Street Sept. 30, 2011 in what police called a dispute over sales of drugs.
The survivor of the shooting is expected to testify as well as one or two eyewitnesses. One of those witnesses said she knew Davis.
A portion of the crime was recorded by a resident’s camera surveillance system in the area of Clay Street and Maltby Place.
According to the police affidavit by Detective Nicole Natale, the videotape showed an SUV pulling up in front of a house on Clay Street. A black male wearing a light-colored sweatshirt exited the passenger side door and walked toward that address.

Victim: Melvin Galloway, 31, of New Haven

Date: Oct. 1, 2011

Time: 12 a.m.

Neighborhood: Fair Haven

Location: Outside 153 Clay Street

Weapon: Gun

Arrests: Kmel Davis, arrested Oct. 10, 2011

Melvin Galloway, 31, of New Haven is shot to death in a double shooting on Oct. 1 over a drug dispute of crack cocaine, police say. Witnesses identify Kmel Davis, 19, as the gunman who fatally shot Galloway and wounded Demetrius Wilkes, 20. Davis turns himself in Oct. 3.

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