La Plata, MD – Antwan Jasper Thompson, 29 of Lanham, on trial in Charles County Circuit Court for attempted first-degree murder, is clean cut today, but back on Nov, 25, 2016, when he allegedly shot at a man engaged to his former girlfriend, he had long dreadlocks that spilled over his shoulders.
Smart police work by a Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputy led to Thompson’s arrest after he fled the scene of the shooting and officers found a 40-caliber Glock semi-automatic pistol stashed in the trunk of his car with two rounds missing.
Most of the drama surrounding the trial, which began Monday, June 6 and stretched into June 7, centered on a video taken at the front door of the residence on Bramley Court in Waldorf. Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeremy Widder attempted to introduce the video to the jury on Tuesday, which brought a fervent objection from Defense Attorney Hammad S. Matin before presiding Judge Amy J. Bragunier.
Matin said he had asked the state for a copy of the video prior to the trial but was told by Widder that there was nothing on the surveillance footage.
“When I called Mr. Widder, I was told, and I remember his exact response, was that he couldn’t get it to play,” Matin told the court. “And here it is showing up in court on the second day of the trial. If you recall, I made a big deal out of this on opening arguments, asking, “Where is this video?’ I made it a huge part of my opening argument. The whole time, I was working with the understanding that there was no video.”
Widder admitted the fault was his, that the evidence had been put in the wrong place.
“I should have been on top of this,” he said, however, he argued against excluding it, saying that “you really can’t tell if it is Mr. Thompson or not in the footage.
“I think there are plenty of remedies beyond exclusion,” Widder added.
Matin was not buying it.
“It was suggested to me that it wasn’t going to be used,” Matin argued. “To say there could be a way to get it in on the second day of the trial, that goes to the heart of my defense argument. Absolutely, the only remedy is the exclusion of it. That’s why we have evidentiary rules.”
Bragunier reserved judgement and as the trail went on, references have been made to the video, but so far the judge has kept it from the jurors.
Officers have testified they recovered a 40-caliber shell casing at the scene of the shooting. The victim, Andrew Coles from Seattle, Washington, told the court he was engaged to the defendant’s former girlfriend when he discovered the two were texting each other back and forth in the weeks prior to the shooting.
“I texted him and asked him to stop [texting] her,” Coles said. “I told him it was disrespectful.”
On the night of Nov. 25, Coles said he and his girlfriend were watching television when the doorbell rang. The witness said when he walked outside he heard a rustle of leaves and turned to find the defendant pointing a gun at him.
“What did you do?” Widder asked.
“I ran,” Coles said.
Coles, who is a special police officer, said he recognized the weapon as a Glock, saying, “I carry the same weapon.”
“Did you think he was trying to kill you?” Widder asked.
“Yes I did,” came the reply.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com