Aug 20, 2008 6:41 pm US/Eastern
Suspect's Girlfriend Testifies In Murder Trial
Reporting
Adam May
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
After nine delays, the trial is finally underway for the man police say killed one of their own. There was dramatic testimony from the girlfriend of Brandon Grimes, charged with killing off-duty police officer Troy Chesley.
Adam May has more on the extremely tense case.
After all those delays, they got right down to it Wednesday. The prosecution called two star witnesses Wednesday. Both of them testified that they saw the defendant with the murder weapon, but one of them saw something else that could actually help the defense.
Brandon Grimes is accused of killing an off-duty Baltimore City police detective, Troy Chesley. Chesley was walking into his house in January 2007 when he was shot in what police believe was an attempted robbery.
Now a year-and-a-half later at the Mitchell Courthouse, Grimes' former girlfriend, Kelly Carter, told jurors before the murder, she was driving with Grimes and they started arguing. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, but eventually calmed down, smoked some marijuana and got out of her van. That was just around the corner from the crime scene. Moments later, she heard gunshots.
"I started screaming and hollering. I drove around the corner. When we met, he fell and I saw blood. He was like, `No, don't take me to the hospital,'" she said.
Carter said she took him to the hospital anyway. Grimes had been shot in the leg. Chesley returned fire before he died.
Defense attorney Roland Walker wouldn't discuss the evidence but he dropped a bombshell in court when he got one of the prosecution's witnesses to say he saw two other people running away from the crime scene.
"He heard me refer to two dudes and that will come out. That I guarantee you," Walker said.
Chesley was featured in a Keep Talking video put out by police to combat witness intimidation.
He left behind two children who are now orphans. Their mother died of a heart attack.
Homicide detectives are expected to take the stand Thursday.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
WJZ.COM's Most Popular Slideshows
