TRENTON >> Defense attorneys usually operate in an arena of reasonable doubt, a high hurdle prosecutors must meet in order to convince a jury to convict someone accused of a crime.
Reasonable doubt should not be confused with doubtless, which is what separates Caroline Turner from most defense attorneys.
During opening statements Thursday in the murder trial of Keith Wells-Holmes,
Keith Wells Holmes
Turner left no doubt in the minds of jurors she is firmly convinced her client is innocent of fatally shooting 35-year-old Andre Corbett in broad daylight Jan. 21, 2013, in front on an apartment complex on Hoffman Avenue and Oakland Street.
“They got the wrong man,” Turner said. She repeated this several times, highlighting what she said are distinct differences in articles of clothing between the shooter and her client. She said the shooter was wearing black pants compared with Wells-Holmes’ blue pants. The shooter’s hoodie, while the same color of Wells-Holmes, was fitted; her client’s was baggy.
The shooter was right-handed; her client is left handed, which she said is supported by a recorded interview with police in which she says Wells-Holmes signs a form waiving his Miranda rights with his left hand.
Despite all this, detectives are convinced they picked up the right man, based on surveillance capturing a black man with a dark-colored hoodie, jeans and gray sneakers pumping multiple rounds into Corbett from a close distance then fleeing in the direction he came.
Bryan Cottrell, a detective in the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, testified he viewed surveillance of a man he believed to be Wells-Holmes getting in and out of a gold-colored van with temporary plates hours before the murder.
A description of a similar van was broadcast to police within minutes of the shooting, Cottrell said.
Corbett was shot at least five times, hit four, including once in the head. He could be seen on surveillance shown to jurors rolling around on the ground. Another man is seen on the tape stepping over Corbett but he does not offer help. A crowd eventually gathers around Corbett’s lifeless body.
Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo’s opening statement was as firm and succinct as that of his adversary.
“He brazenly shot him more than four times from an arm’s length away,” Grillo said of the Wells-Holmes, who is being tried separately from co-defendant and suspected getaway driver Zihqwan “Woody” Clemens, 24.
Clemens remains the “wild card” in this trial. He is on the witness list, and prosecutors have offered him a plea deal that calls for a 30-year sentence for his role in Corbett’s murder. But it is unclear whether he will accept the deal and testify against Wells-Holmes.
Wells-Holmes, dressed in a brown suit, appeared calm and relaxed on the opening day of his murder trial, sipping from a cup filled with water. That contrasted with his recorded interview with police a day after the murder, which was shown to the jury.
Wells-Holmes initially appeared at ease with detectives, bragging about clothes he had just purchased two days prior, including a pair of flashy Deion Sanders’ Nike sneakers. But he became leery of detectives when they pressed him on his whereabouts the day of Corbett’s murder.
Detectives asked him when the last time he visited family who lived blocks from the murder. Wells-Holmes initially responded he had visited family Sunday, Jan. 20, the same day he purchased clothes including blue Levi jeans and a dark-colored hoodie – the same clothes he had on during his interview.
Now-retired Trenton Police Detective Edgar Rios shot back.
“We seen you over there yesterday,” he said, referring to Jan. 21, 2013.
Wells-Holmes stammered.
“I don’t really remember,” he said, adding that he had hitched a ride to the area at some point from an acquaintance he knew only as “Woody.” Cottrell testified he immediately recognized the nickname “Woody” as Clemens from past experience.
Turner explained earlier in the day her client “muddled up” his days.
In the video, Wells-Holmes accused detectives of trying to “trick me up” with their questions and subsequently cut off the interview and told detectives he did not want to answer any more questions.
“I don’t have nothing to do with nothing,” Wells-Holmes said.