LITCHFIELD — As the Kevin Campbell trial heads into the perceived final days before jury deliberations, the court ruled out two different testimonies brought in by defense attorneys who were hoping to add more substance to their side of the arguments. The trial began on Jan. 10.
Campbell is facing a second trial for the murder of Roland Lagasse, who was shot to death at the Forbidden Motorcycle Club in Torrington in 2008. Campbell’s first round in court ended in a mistrial in 2009 after jurors were unable to agree on sentencing.
First, Public Defender Chris Cosgrove, defending Campbell, proposed having a firearms expert testify about the possibility of Campbell’s gun being “unintentionally discharged,” along with the numerous possible factors associated with the hypothetical argument.
Judge James P. Ginocchio ruled Tuesday that the expert would not be allowed to testify, saying that he assumed the defense was going to rest on the “hypothetical,” argument, which was proposed by Cosgrove, who stated that the gun was fired unintentionally.
Ginocchio added that by bringing in an expert to offer an opinion on the theoretical, unintentional discharge of Campbell’s .38 revolver in June 2008 would bring a “lower standard” to Litchfield Superior Court. The argument by Cosgrove, Ginocchio said, had no scientific evidence and the risk of an unintentional discharge is “simplistic” enough for jurors to understand, given the statements and evidence provided by the defense.
Cosgrove’s proposal to bring in computer generated animation, designating a possible bullet trajectory through deceased Roland Lagasse’s body, was also denied by Ginocchio outside of the jury’s presence Tuesday afternoon.
Second, Campbell’s defense tried their hardest to bring in a 3D animation demonstration to show the entry point, trajectory and resting site of the hollow point bullet that penetrated Lagasse’s chest, ultimately the source of his death. The animation was created by the Office of Chief Public Defender’s Manager of Legal and Training Support Frank DiMatteo, after a request from Cosgrove and Public Defender Damian T. Tucker.
“The defense’s foundation was an abysmal failure,” State Prosecutor David Shepack said. “In my career, I’ve never seen a more abysmal foundation [by defense].
“The foundations are weaker today than they were 18 months ago,” he added. “The people of the state of Connecticut would be significantly prejudiced” if the animation was allowed.
Shepack’s argument — poking holes in an error-filled DiMatteo testimony — was enough for Ginocchio to agree that the animation, prepared by an English major with a Microsoft certificate and no formal crime scene training, was “complete with inaccuracies.”
Ginocchio said he was “shocked” that DiMatteo’s testimony, after review of the transcript, had numerous inconsistencies and he wasn’t willing to risk the court’s sanctity over an “eyeballed” animation.
“Computer generation has to be held to the highest standard,” he said. “This falls so far short... It’s absolutely misleading and prejudicial.”
On both accounts, attorney Cosgrove noted for the record that Campbell was being denied his due process rights, outlined in the U.S. Constitution. Ginocchio acknowledged the defense’s attempts at numerous motions, giving them “great credit” on representing their client.
When the jury returns Wednesday, members will be listening to one more testimony brought on by the defense and “at least four” more by Shepack’s team before closing arguments at the end of the week.
Before the jury left for the day, however, they had the opportunity to listen to testimonies from three different state forensic scientists who examined Campbell’s clothing and DNA, along with Lagasse’s DNA.
Dr. John Schienman told the court that blood stains found on Campbell’s clothing were his alone and that “nothing” had Lagasse’s DNA strands on it — including the gun. This conclusion by Dr. Schienman came after swabs taken from various clothing articles owned by Campbell were turned into evidence.
Campbell’s jeans had two legitimate blood spots on the rear left leg “consistent” to his DNA, most likely “transfer” blood stains, not dripped blood or blood absorbed from inside the clothing. Dr. Schienman said there were no traces of blood on Campbell’s gun that killed Lagasse during a 2008 scuffle over a motorcycle club member’s vest patch.
The jeans also had no signs of grass stains, according to forensic scientist Lucinda Lopes Phelan. Though she wasn’t able to determine how much force would leave grass stains on denim, Phelan said that broken grass blades would usually leave some mark on clothing.
Campbell testified last week that Lagasse pushed him down, and in the process, the defendant was pulling out his gun and it accidentally went off. An eyewitness testimony brought on by state prosecution said Campbell stood, pointed the gun at Lagasse and pulled the trigger, killing him almost instantly.
Campbell, a 5’9” and approximately 120 lb. man with a prosthetic leg, said the gun was a form of defense against 6-foot-plus, roughly 230 lb. Lagasse as he charged after getting in a fist fight with Campbell’s brother.
Defense attorney Cosgrove called Campbell’s previous counselor, Ralph Crozier to the stand Tuesday, too. Crozier, who represented Campbell during the 2009 mistrial on the same murder charges, took photos of Campbell’s hands and elbows — which had dried-up abrasions on them — the Monday following the alleged murder.
“I was memorializing what I saw,” he said of the photos, shot with a BlackBerry phone, which were enlarged and printed out for jurors to see. “I wouldn’t call it portrait quality.”
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