Demeatrius Montgomery is charged with murder in the 2007 shooting deaths of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark. Below is a summary of his trial to date.
Monday, August 23, 2010
- Pre-trial motions begin. Montgomery refuses to come to court. His aunt finally convinces him to show up, and then he refuses to speak.
- Detective Arvin Fant takes the witness stand and admits that he discarded some of his investigation notes.
- Prosecutor Marsha Goodenow is forced to take the witness stand. She says that all witness statements were videotaped or recorded, and that evidence was not touched.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
- Montgomery's defense attorneys request that the trial be dismissed because of Fant's mishandling of case notes.
- Judge Forrest Bridges rules that the trial will continue,but prosecutors will not be allowed to seek the death penalty.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
- Prosecutors announce that they will not appeal Bridge's death penalty ban.
- Defense attorneys withdraw motion to revisit Montgomery's competency.
- Judge reviews evidence, rules Montgomery competent and says he believes Montgomery's silence is by choice and he is capable of assisting defense.
- Jury selection begins.
- Attorneys argue over a possible second suspect in the case, who bears a resemblance to Montgomery. Defense asks to be able to discuss second suspect with jurors.
- Judge says he will issue ruling later on whether jurors should hear about second suspect.
- Day ends with no jurors seated.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
- Montgomery refuses to obey judge's dress code and wears orange jumpsuit to court.
- Jury selection continues -- 11 jurors dismissed, none seated
Friday, August 27, 2010
- Trial adjourns while attorneys investigate unnamed matters. Jury selection on hold.
Monday, August 30, 2010
- Attorneys say Detective Arvin Fant has found some of the case notes he thought he had discarded.
- CMPD announces independent panel will review all of Fant's cases.
- Jury selection resumes. Day ends with no jurors seated.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
- Seven jurors are seated --four Caucasian women, two African-American women and one Caucasian man.
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010
- Three more jurors are seated.
Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010
- The final juror and three alternates are seated.
Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010
- Opening statements begin.
- Widows of slain officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark testify
Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010
- Witness Evelyn Tejada testifies that she saw a man who looked like Demeatrius Montgomery at the Timber Ridge Apartments the day officers Shelton and Clark were killed.
Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010
- Witness Willie McMickens describes seeing Montgomery, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, at the Timber Ridge Apartments before the shooting. McMickens says after the shooting he saw a man, who was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, running away from the scene.
Friday, Sept. 10, 2010
- Attorneys visit a hospital, where they interview Joe Robinson, who is terminally ill and unable to go to the courthouse to testify. Robinson's testimony is videotaped to be played for jurors on Monday.
Monday, Sept. 13, 2010
- Sabrina Caldwell positively identifies Montgomery as the man who was running away from the Timber Ridge Apartments after the shootings of officers Shelton and Clark. She is the first witness to definitively identify Montgomery with a gun at the scene of the shooting.
- Joe Robinson's videotaped testimony is played for the jurors.
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010
- Prosecutors play audio of radio traffic recorded on the night officers Shelton and Clark were killed.
- Two witnesses describe seeing Montgomery running through the apartment complex holding a shiny object. A 16-year-old witness identifies the object as a gun.
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010
- Officers Harlan Proctor and Steven Blackwell testify. They were the first officers to arrive at Timber Ridge Apartments after the shootings.
Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010
- Prosecutors introduce a bloody T-shirt into evidence. Attorneys said Officer Sean Clark was wearing the shirt when he was shot and killed.
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010
- Judge Forrest Bridges rules that the jury should hear about Montgomery's criminal record, which includes incidents of violence against police officers.
Monday, Sept. 20, 2010
- Defense lawyer Duane Bryant tells Judge Bridges that Montgomery had indicated he wanted different representation Monday morning. Montgomery refused to comment so Judge Bridges continued the trial.
- Monday afternoon, prosecutors began laying the groundwork for some of theevidence in the trial.
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010
- Prosecutors introduced a .32-caliber revolver into evidence.
Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010
- Police officers who had arrested Montgomery for previous incidents testified regarding their interaction with the defendant.
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010
- Prosecutors introduce DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers as evidence against Montgomery. An SBI agent testifies that gunshot residue was found on Montgomery's right and left palms.
Friday, Sept. 24, 2010
- A DNAexpert testified that he could not be sure that Montgomery's DNAwas on the murder weapon because he found DNAfrom multiple people.
- The expert found DNAfrom Jeff Shelton on the weapon, indicating that there was a struggle.
Monday, Sept. 27, 2010
- A ballistics expert told the court that the bullets found in Sean Clark's brain matched the .32-caliber gun that has been identified as the murder weapon.
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010
- Both the prosecution and the defense rested Tuesday morning, without the defense presenting any evidence.
Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010
- Lawyers for the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments Wednesday morning.
- The jury began deliberations just after 3 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010
- Jury resumes deliberations at 9:30 a.m.
- Guilty verdict announced at 4:15 p.m. Jury finds Montgomery guilty of two counts offirst-degree murder.
