Dinkins trial 5th day: FBI agent, Davenport police officers testify

Day five of the trial of Henry Dinkins, accused of the murder of Breasia Terrell, is underway in Scott County Court in Davenport.

FBI Special Agent Cameron Smith was the first to testify. He became involved in the case when Breasia was reported missing on July 10, 2020. Under questioning from Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham, he said he was the case agent or point of contact. He brought in the ERT team to search vehicles. Based on the available information at the time, they searched on HIghway 30 and the Credit Island area, he testified.

Smith told the court about items collected from various locations, including swabs and a rag from the RV and debris, fiber and hairs in the RV. A machete was found on top of the microwave. Fibers, hair and a t-shirt were found in the Camaro. Soil samples were taken at Credit Island and Highway 30, he said.

Chad Frese, the defense attorney, questioned Smith. “There was no DNA from Breasia Terrell found in that Impala?” Frese asked Smith.

“Correct,” Smith replied.

Frese then asked whether Smith had interviewed any witnesses who saw Breasia inside the Impala.

“No,” Smith said.

Under further questioning from Frese, Smith testified that a woman had reported hearing that someone buried the body of a little girl on Credit Island. He also testified that no DNA from Breasia was found on Dinkins.

The next witness to take the stand was Craig Burkle, an officer with the Davenport Police Department. He had been dispatched to the apartment, where he spoke to Aishia Lankford, Breasia’s mother and Dinkins. Dinkins told Burkle that Breasia was missing when he woke up, Burkle testified. Dinkins and Lankford got into an argument and Lankford said, “You lost my child” to Dinkins, according to Burkle’s testimony.

Burkle told the court that sometimes a child is hiding in the house or has run away when the child is reported missing. On the day Breasia went missing, Burkle told Dinkins that that at the apartment, and Dinkins said he already had looked and Breasia wasn’t there. Burkle searched the apartment again.

Burkle said he asked Dinkins for his address and Dinkins didn’t know, saying it was “somewhere down by Ralston Purina.” Burkle said he checked closets and under the bed. “I was only in there for about five minutes.” Burkle testified that when he came out of the apartment, he didn’t see Dinkins anywhere. He called Dinkins but Dinkins did not pick up any of the six times Burkle called. Dinkins did call Burkle at 12:04 p.m. Burkle called his supervisor. “Something just wasn’t sitting right with me.” According to Burkle’s testimony, more officers arrived and they began using a drone.

In the video from Burkle’s body-cam, Dinkins and Lankford began arguing with their voices raised. “You guys gotta come together right now,” Burkle says in the video. “This isn’t the time to fight about it.” In the body-cam video, Andrea Culberson, Dinkins’ then-girlfriend, lets Burkle into the apartment.

Under questioning from Cunnigham, Burkle said Dinkins was wearing shiny gold shoes. When questioned by Frese, Burkle said Dinkins’ shirt was not stained.

Retired Davenport Police Officer Jason Pojar was next on the stand. According to his testimony, there was a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) that morning for a 2007 maroon Chevy Impala. He found it parked on the street in the 400 block of Main Street in Davenport near the Davenport Police Department. Fred’s Towing responded to the scene. Pojar maintained the chain of custody for the car.

Davenport Police Detective Elizabeth Tharp took the stand.

Tharp testified that she was pregnant at the time of the disappearance and that her sense of smell was heightened. She was present when the trunk of the Impala was opened and she smelled Clorox, she said.

“Are you attributing this ability to smell bleach to being pregnant?” Frese asked.

“I smelled bleach. Very distinct,” Tharp said.

Davenport Police Corporal Joshua Stocking took the stand this afternoon. He testified that he was involved in canvassing the apartment complex and seeking surveillance video.

He was part of multiple teams that went door to door with a photo of Breasia, he said in response to Cunningham’s questioning.

On March 23, 2021, Stocking was part of a team that searched the area where Breasia was found. He testified that a white T shirt was found about 25 yards south of where Breasia’s remains were found.

A. J. Poirier from the Davenport Police Special Victims Unit took the stand next. He reviewed video surveillance from outside the Clinton Walmart that showed a maroon Chevy Impala on July 10, 2020, about 6:50 a.m.

Dinkins left the car and went up to the door, but the store wasn’t open yet. He left and came back a few minutes later. Dinkins rang up two bottles of bleach, Poirier said in response to Cunningham’s questioning. Dinkins left about 7:10 a.m.

Poirier testified that he helped clear larger brush from the area where Breasia’s remains were found. Investigators put up tents and tarps around the area to preserve it because it was raining, he told the court.

Christine Baker, former civilian crime scene technician for the Davenport Police Department, was next on the stand. She testified that she went to the apartment after Breasia was reported missing. “That’s where she (Breasia) was last seen,” she told the court.

Baker identified photos, the state’s exhibits, that she had taken in the apartment. The photos included a pistol and a machete. Under defense questioning, Baker said she did not find fingerprints on the gun. She said she did not smell bleach or notice what might be blood stains in the apartment.

This is a breaking story and Local 4 will have more information as it becomes available.