it. He
asked Mr. Cotham why he took the cell phone and told him it had GPS. The Defendant said
he told Mr. Cotham to stop talking about the homicide and to call him that night or the next
morning about work. He said he never saw the gun.

        The Defendant stated that he avoided Mr. Cotham’s calls for a while and was not
around him for three or four days after the homicide but that eventually, he had to continue
meeting with Mr. Cotham at night to maintain their routine. He said he did not want to
“disappear” from people who knew him. He said that Mr. Cotham was concerned his cell
phone was being monitored and that although they did not have code words, they saidCounty Sheriff’s Department correctional officer,
testified that she worked briefly at the facility where the Defendant was incarcerated. She
said he was her “rock man,” which she said was an inmate who cleaned the halls and helped
“serve.” She said they had three or four conversations and sometimes talked about the
Defendant’s son. Ms. Looch said that on February 9, 2011, the Defendant came to her and
appeared to want to talk. He began talking about the crime and told her he had said
something to Mr. Cotham that had been misunderstood. She said his statement was unusual
because the Defendant would not have known that she was aware of the nature of his charge.
She said the Defendant stated, “[Y]ou never know what you will do when someone tried to
take that one last thing you