La Plata, MD – After closing arguments concluded in the Charles County Circuit Court trial of Timothy Russell Hagens, 48 of Oxon Hill, Thursday, Jan. 7, his chances of acquittal looked slim.

Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Beattie presented a good case, showing jurors the video of a man who appeared to be Hagens selling crack cocaine to a confidential informant under the guidance of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office in La Plata in April 2014.

The jury ruled for acquittal, exonerating Hagens of all counts before before Judge Helen I. Harrington.

“It’s not the most complicated crime in the world,” Beattie told jurors in his closing arguments Thursday.

Beattie argued that the substance exchanged in the transaction was cocaine.

“The video showed you that transferred over to the informant,” he said. “What’s in those bags? It’s cocaine. Where does the deal happen? Right here in La Plata. The other person in that video … who is that? It’s the same guy the informant says he has known for 30 years. Timothy Hagens is the face that you saw. It’s that man,” he said, pointing to the defendant. “He’s guilty. Find him such.”

Charles County Assistant Public Defender Michele Harewood called the controlled buy an “unholy alliance” between the sheriff’s office and “a thief and a snitch.

“It’s dog eat dog,” she said. “They [police] want to do right. They have the jobs. They have no criminal record, no addictions. They take short cuts by any means necessary. The informant has been sent home to the Maryland House of Corrections where he has a full-time job as a liar and a thief. Somebody’s lying,” she said.

She pointed out that the equipment used to record the transaction had both the wrong time and a date of 2010.

Beattie maintained that the detective stated the time and date on every video.

“Does it matter?” he asked. “No, it does not. This is not some grand scheme to pull the wool over your eyes as to what time it is. Look at his face,” Beattie said, pointing to the video. “It’s him.”

After a little over an hour later, the jury returned its verdict of not guilty.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com