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Greensboro Man Gets Life for Murder of A&T Student

By Julius McKinley and Denada Jackson

Bryant Lamont Bowens

A Greensboro, N.C., man was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2003 killing of North Carolina A&T student Christopher Jerome Harmon in a parking lot near a Greensboro nightclub.

The killing prompted a remembrance ceremony in which A&T students marched from the school to the club to promote nonviolence. The students expressed concern about the safety of downtown Greensboro.

During a three-day trial, witness Lance Gainer said that Harmon, 20, a junior political science major on full academic scholarship, had tried to break up an argument between two women and a member of Harmon's group outside the club.

One of the women was a girlfriend of the shooter, Bryant Lamont Bowens, 30, who detectives described as a convicted felon with an extensive criminal background.

The jury deliberated for an hour and a half before reaching its decision Oct. 27 in the Guilford County Courthouse. Superior Court Judge Michael E. Helms sentenced Bowens to life without parole.

The prosecution used five witnesses to prove Bowens' guilt.

Defense lawyers Wayland Cooke and Walt Jones tried to prove that the prosecution witnesses were under the influence of alcohol and had wrongly identified the suspect.

The jury, selected Oct. 25, consisted of one black person, 11 whites, six women and six men. Two of the jurors had ties to A&T.

Gary Champion, a former A&T student and friend of Harmon, took the stand first for the prosecution. According to Champion, Jan. 26, 2003, was a normal night at the establishment.

"The club was packed and a lot of people were drunk," Champion said. "L.J. [Larry Bishop] was helping me walk to the car because I was drunk, and when I got into the seat, shots were fired."

Bishop, who was Harmon's cousin, told the jury that Harmon had been valedictorian of his high school.

According to Bishop, when they left the club, they saw two women standing near their car. Bishop told authorities that he asked the women to ignore Champion, who was drunk.

"I put Gary into the car and then I heard the shots," Bishop said. "I was in shock of what had happened."

Witnesses claimed that a light-colored SUV pulled up in front of the victim's green Dodge Intrepid. Many believed that they saw the shooter wearing a red leather coat with NBA team logos.

"I saw the van that was parked next to Chris' car at the club. I got a partial license plate number and gave it to Detective Rankin," said Bishop, referring to Norman Rankin, who was named Officer of the Year by the Greensboro Police Department for his work on the case. "There were more than three people in the van and some of them were females," Bishop added.

From the witness stand, Lance Gainer pointed out Bowens as the shooter, and said he was the man wearing the leather coat with NBA logos.

"Chris tried to defuse an argument, and then three shots were fired," said Gainer. "I tried to go the opposite direction of the shots and once I got up, I saw Chris had been shot in the head," Gainer added.

Bowens chose not to testify for the defense, which produced no evidence or witnesses.

"I feel good and I'm glad that it's over with," said Christopher Harmon's father, Desmond Harmon. "Justice was served."

"I feel great," said Christopher's grandfather, Ralph Boston. "My grandson is gone and I can't get him back. I'm glad Bowens is off the street before he harms another individual," he said.

Julius McKinley and Denada Jackson, students at North Carolina A&T State University, write for The A&T Register.

Posted Nov. 3, 2004