Accused Crossroads killer denies shooting

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two months after a deadly shooting inside Crossroads bar, the suspect is facing justice in Fresno County.

Janee Tatum was shot in the head back in March. The FBI caught Craig Foster in Cleveland, more than five weeks after the shooting. He was extradited to Fresno County this week and pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Friday.

From the night they went to Crossroads bar and found Janee Tatum shot in the head, Fresno police knew who they were looking for. An arrest warrant shows several people identified a man they knew as "Crayzo" as the shooter. Janee's husband, Herman, who was also shot, was one of the witnesses who identified him in photo lineups.

But when "Crayzo" appeared in court Friday, under his real name, Craig Foster, he denied being the triggerman.

"When I spoke to him he told me he does maintain his innocence in this case," said public defender Scott Baly.

Witnesses say Foster was making sexual advances at Janee Tatum. When Herman stepped in, Foster pulled a gun from his waistband and shot both victims at close range.

But ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi says witnesses sometimes make mistakes.

"It's been shown on a number of occasions, eyewitness identification has been wrong and drastically wrong," he said.

Police say Foster took off from the bar after the shooting. The manhunt led them out of Fresno, to Las Vegas, and finally to Cleveland where the FBI caught him at a relative's house.

Capozzi says Foster's run from the law could boost the eyewitness accounts in a murder trial.

"When you leave, that can be used in evidence against you as indications of guilt," he said. "You're fleeing the scene because you're afraid you might be caught for what you did."

Herman Tatum didn't attend Friday's court hearing because the emotions were just too much for him.

Foster is due back in court next month.