A high-profile murder trial in Fulton County Superior Court Thursday had a Perry Mason moment.
Unlike television, such interludes are rare in real prosecutions. But both sides in the case -- prosecutor Lance Cross and defense lawyer Liz Markowitz -- accused witness Johnquavious Hood of being the triggerman in the murder of John Henderson at the Standard Food & Spirits, which put the public spotlight on Hood's gang, 30-Deep.
Markowitz contended Hood told police that her client, Jonathan Redding, committed the murder in order to get a better deal for his pending criminal charges as well as to avoid being indicted for the killing.
“You’re worried about the Standard, aren’t you?" Markowitz asked Hood. “You’re the shooter, the triggerman who went in and shot John Henderson, aren’t you?”
It was a high moment in the Redding trial, which entered its third day. Prosecutors have charged the 19-year-old under a law that allows the jury to convict him of murder for just being present if the death happened during an armed robbery. Court officials expect testimony to end today.
Hood, 18, denied being a killer but admitted being a member of 30 Deep. He said the gang committed the string of smash-and-grab burglaries at boutiques, which led being dubbed the “Blue Jean Bandits.” He also took exception at 30 Deep being labeled a gang. Instead, he called it a family.
"You label us a gang because of what we’re doing,” he said. “We got to get money. We can’t get a job or anything. What’s the grudge against us?”
In a rare alignment between prosecution and defense, Cross said he agreed with Markowitz, that Hood had fired the killing shot on Jan. 7, 2009, at the Grant Park tavern where Henderson worked. But the prosecutor contended that Redding had shot Henderson in the leg with the second firearm used in the robbery that, law officers say, began as an attempt to steal flat-screen televisions.
Hood denied ever telling police that Redding was the gunman, even though the interrogation was videotaped. He ended up in a rambling soliloquy about life with 30 Deep.
“We don’t have to go put a gun on nobody for a TV,” Hood said. “You all think you know everything? You feel me ... none of us had nothing to do with it.”
Cross contended Hood didn’t want to be seen as a “snitch,” now that he was facing Redding in court.
Another witness told police that Hood had boasted to her he killed the 27-year-old Henderson, according to court documents.
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