A week from today, lawyers are expected to make opening arguments to a jury in the trial of Marcus Chamblin, 29, one of two men facing murder and attempted murder charges in the death by fusillade of Deon O’Neil Jenkins and the wounding of another man, S.T., as they sat in a car at the Circle K on Palm Coast Parkway early the morning of Oct. 12, 2019.
It is expected to be a long, complicated and likely murky trial. Chamblin’s co-defendant, Derrius Bauer, is to be tried in September. Today (April 2), lawyers in Chamblin’s case argued a series of pre-trial motions whose outcome set the ground rules of the trial regarding what may and may not be introduced as evidence before the jury.
The defense–which is today Chamblin–lost ground on most of those motions, some of it damaging ground. But it also gave the first glimpse into its strategy: Defense attorney Terence Lenamon, who will be trying his first criminal case in Flagler County, is going to go for the outlandish defense–that the prosecution’s accusations against Chamblin are outlandish.
“Their theory is that my client’s little brother approached him at some point the night of the incident,” Lenamon said, “and that he told my client that the victim was threatening his grandparents. My client was at a hotel partying with Bauer and a couple of other people. And they allege that he put on the clothing that we referenced, and that he took this Draco,” an AK-47-style assault rifle, “that Bauer went and found where the victim was, he was hanging out in a circle K, and the victim ends up in a car with another individual by the name of Mr. Terry. And my client sneaks up in disguise with this gun while the victim is sitting in the vehicle, and sprays him. That’s their theory.”
As today’s more than half dozen motions indicated–motions are also broad, bay windows into cases, revealing all sorts of evidence–the prosecution has assembled a little more than a theory, including the weapon, texts, images, clothing, timelines, and the semblance of an admission in the form of a set of lyrics Chamblin had written shortly after the shooting, and that Lenamon wanted excluded from the trial:
“The phone steady ringing momma said I made the news tonight The pussy [N-word] reached on me Best believe I didn’t think twice I sent the [N-word] to the lord Hoping they don;t kick my door tonight tossing and turning thinking about hitting the road tonight my bm blowing me up telling me get in my daughter life lord knows I always try to make right to build a life.”
Chamblin and Bauer left Flagler County the day after the shooting.
Lenamon argued to the court that connecting those lyrics to the “theory” of the crime was itself outlandish, that it’s an attempt by the defense to pin another murder on Chamblin. “They’re making some huge, huge jumps in their determination that this has anything to do with the crime,” he said of Assistant State Attorneys Mark Johnson and Jason Lewis, who are trying the case.
Perkins disagreed.
“There are six things here, six representations in here, the strongest of course that ‘I killed somebody,’” Perkins said, showing his skills at translating rap lyrics into Blackstone English. “It’s not phrased that way, but that’s what it means. ‘I killed somebody. I’m hoping that I don’t get caught. I’m thinking about leaving town. And I’m getting phone calls from my mother and from my girlfriend.’ So of the six things, five of them fit.” So looking at the lyrics as an admission, Perkins said, “at least a large part of it is a direct admission, and the other information is contextual that I think is part of that admission in that regard.”
The question, Perkins said, was whether the document’s “probative value”–meaning whether it carries enough weight of evidence to make it relevant–exceeds its prejudicial effect. “I find it does,” the judge said.
Of the six things, five of them fit,” Perkins said. “Looking as the admissibility of this as an admission, at least a large part of it is a direct admission and the rest of it is at least contextual and in part an admission in that regard.” Does its probative value exceeds its prejudicial effect? “I find it does.” (In contrast with his typically discerning and elegant analyses, Perkins had earlier badly, shockingly misfired when, ruling in favor of not playing a rap video featuring Chamblin, Bauer and the weapon, he referred to it as showing “a bunch of people with bad teeth”–a clearly unintentional but crass if not prejudiced misunderstanding of grills, or grillz, that young Black men and women sometimes like to wear, not least as a message.)
Almost as significant as the ruling on the lyrics by Chamblin’s hand were denials of the defense’s motions to exclude evidence collected from Chamblin’s and Bauer’s car in Clay County, including the camouflage pants Chamblin was allegedly seen wearing at the time of the shooting (which was caught on surveillance video, though the face of the shooter is not visible) and shoes he was wearing. The defense had argued that Clay County’s traffic stop of the two men had been illegal, as was their detention, though both had unrelated warrants out for their arrest at the time.
Perkins also denied a motion to exclude parts of an interview between Flagler County Sheriff’s detective Agustin Rodriguez (who has since been promoted to sergeant) with Chamblin, up to the point where Chamblin invoked his right to a lawyer. During those arguments, Lenamon let known his apparent antipathy for Rodriguez’s methods as he spoke of the way Rodriguez “is telling you his theory of the case, who said what, how it happened, so forth and so on. Which he has a habit of doing with pretty much every witness he interviews.” (Intentionally or not, but surely inattentively, Lenamon misspelled the detective’s name in written documents.)
In several instances, the two sides compromised rather than battled through motions, but one matter remains somewhat unresolved. The prosecution has an FBI expert testifying about the camouflage pants Chamblin is alleged to have worn the early morning of the shooting, testimony that would link evidence found in Chamblin’s and Bauer’s car to the shooting. Lenamon called the FBI’s method “junk science,” and sought to have the testimony excluded. He failed, but to some extent the prosecution will have to give the court a preview of what the expert will say before the jury hears it.
The trial begins Monday with jury selection. That’s expected to take all day. The court has set aside the est of the week, plus Monday and Tuesday of the following week, for the trial. The prosecution’s witness list in its early version had numbered over 120 people. Most often, only a fraction of those on witness lists make it to the stand. But the size of the list was an indication of the epic ahead, even if fractional.
Chamblin was in court today, as were two family members, or friends, who sat behind him in the gallery. He did not speak, nor was he called on to speak.
JimboXYZ says
This storyline is taking on a Tupac-like copy cat murder vibe to it ?