Gregory Lance Henderson, 39, of Columbus, Ga., is charged with capital murder for allegedly running over Lee County sheriff’s deputy James Anderson during a traffic stop in Smiths Station on Sept. 24, 2009.
 |
| Bonham |
The state, led by Lee County District Attorney Robbie Treese, alleges Henderson deliberately ran over the deputy as he attempted to flee from the traffic stop, while the defense, led by attorney Jeremy Armstrong, says the deputy’s death was an accident and their client did not intend to kill Anderson.UPDATE: 10:25 a.m.
During the second day of testimony, Lee County sheriff’s investigator Dan Scivicque, then a deputy, said he was working in Smiths Station on Sept. 24, 2009 when he heard Bonham’s radio call that Anderson was stuck under a vehicle.
Bonham testified Thursday she and Anderson had pulled Henderson over because the tag on his white 1991 Honda Civic was registered to another vehicle. Anderson exited the patrol car with his gun drawn as Henderson tried to drive away from the traffic stop. Henderson ran over the deputy as he attempted to flee, she said.
Scivicque said he sped to the scene, arriving to find volunteer firefighter Clint Knox and Bonham trying free Anderson.
After seeing Anderson under the vehicle, Scivicque said he retrieved a car jack from his patrol car to lift the white Honda resting on top of the deputy.
“I was able to life the car several inches, but it wasn’t enough space to pull him out,” he said. “ … I didn’t see any movement from him.”
The deputies and the firefighter continued to try to free Anderson.
“We were pulling so hard, Clint actually pulled part of his duty belt off,” Scivicque said.
Scivicque said he helped layout a landing zone for the Life Saver helicopter. Bonham, he said, took his patrol car to try to flag down a passing wrecker.
Scivicque said he learned from the pilot Anderson could not be transported by helicopter because paramedics could not perform chest compressions during flight. Consequently, the investigator said Anderson was transported by ambulance.
Friendship Volunteer Fire Department first responder Ronald Menz said Anderson didn’t have any vital signs during the attempts to save him after he was pulled from under the car with the assistance of a wrecker, which lifted the Honda enough to pull him free.
Anderson was taken to the Columbus Regional Medical Center in Columbus, Ga., where he was pronounced dead.
UPDATE 11:36 a.m. A forensic pathologist who worked at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in 2009 and examined Anderson’s body testified the deputy died of traumatic asphyxia from being trapped under the car driven by Henderson. Traumatic asphyxia happens when a person’s chest is squeezed by a great weight or force and the individual is unable to breath, Dr. John Daniels said.
“He could not breath, he could not bring in oxygen; because of that, he died,” Daniels said.
Under cross examination by Armstrong, Daniels said Anderson did not die from blunt-force trauma. Daniels also dismissed vomit as a contributor to the asphyxia. Anderson reportedly vomited while he was trapped under the Honda.
Anderson suffered multiple fractures, hemorrhages, internal bleeding, abrasions on his legs and abdomen and burns, Daniels said.
“It is an exhaustive list,” said Daniels as he looked over his autopsy on Anderson.
UPDATE 2:45 p.m.
Jeff Nelson, a crash scene investigator with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, was the first witness called by the state after the lunch recess. Nelson said he arrived on the scene at about 2 p.m. on the afternoon of Anderson’s death.
Nelson testified about acceleration marks from Henderson’s vehicle and drag marks left by Anderson’s body in the yard where the deputies pulled over Henderson.
Nelson also documented debris from Henderson’s car and Anderson’s gun belt.
The court took a short recess during Nelson’s testimony when Anderson’s widow stepped out of the courtroom as the investigator began to describe drag marks, approximately 3 feet long, in the lawn left by Anderson’s body.
Nelson also documented a hole dug by one of the tires on Henderson’s car as it tried to accelerate.
Nelson testified he examined the Honda after the incident and found the brakes and accelerator functioned normally. Nelson testified there appeared to be spots of burned plastic and impressions of fabric on the car’s muffler in addition to scrapes.
Nelson displayed Anderson’s gun belt and the tattered and stained remains of his uniform, cut away by paramedics working to save his life.
Under cross examination by Armstrong, Nelson said there were no markings indicating a point of impact on the vehicle.
“The only marks I found were on the undercarriage which appeared to go from the front to the rear,” Nelson said.
Nelson said it appears the front of the car was the area of impact.
Nelson said he used marks on road way, the position of the vehicle and the position of the body to determined Anderson was run over by the car moving forward. Whether Henderson struck Anderson in reverse or driving forward has been a frequent topic of cross examination by Armstrong. The officers investigating the case and Bonham, then Anderson’s partner, say the deputy was run over by Henderson as he drove forward; however, a preliminary scene report for the state forensics lab says Anderson was struck while the car was reversing.
UPDATE 3:30 P.M.
The state rested at 3:18 p.m. after two days of testimony by deputies, investigators with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and a forensic pathologist. Armstrong made a motion for acquittal, arguing the state had failed to show it was Henderson’s intent to kill the deputy with the car and that testimony from the a former state forensic pathologist showed Anderson death, the result of traumatic asphyxia, not blunt force trauma, was an indirect result of being struck by the car.
“It was collateral consequence of being struck,” Armstrong said.
Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III denied the motion, and scheduled the trial to resume Monday morning at 9 a.m.
Johnny Wade Cook, who lives at the residence on Lee Road 240 where deputies tried to stop Henderson, was the last witness of the day.
Cook said he was preparing for work when Henderson’s white Honda Civic and the deputies’ patrol car pulled into his yard.
Henderson’s car stopped briefly in front of the home’s living room before reversing to change directions, Cook said.
Cook said Anderson exited the patrol vehicle and moved parallel to Henderson’s path. Cook said he did not see the car strike Anderson, but saw the Honda soon after through his dining room window.
“The white car was stuck,” he said. “The tires were spinning like he was trying to get unstuck. They spun one direction, then he obviously put it in the other direction, but all they did was dig into the ground.”
At that point, investigator Katie Bonham was ordering Henderson to stop the car, he said.
“She was telling the car to stop, but it didn’t stop, so she fired a shot, and it still didn’t stop so she fire again,” Cook said.
Bonham testified Thursday she shot into the car twice, striking the frame near Henderson’s head and the front side panel of the car above the wheel well.
Cook said Henderson gave up after the second shot, and Bonham subdued him.
“I remember thinking why has it not stopped after she had fired,” he said.
Cook said her heard fragments of the conversation between Bonham and Henderson, including a statement by the defendant they needed to help Anderson.
“I didn’t hear anything crystal clear,” he said.
Cook testified he asked if he needed to call 911. Bonham said help was on the way, but she needed help for her partner, Cook said.
“When I looked toward the white car, I could see the officer’s hand and foot sticking out from under the car,” Cook said.
Cook said he ran to the Honda.
“Something was running out of his mouth. The engine was still running …” Cook said.
Cook said he ran around the car to shut off the engine.
Cook said he retrieved a jack from his truck, but was unable to get it under the low ground clearance of the Honda.
By the time he returned with a second jack from his son’s house nearby, Cook said first responders and more deputies had arrived.
“I knew they were better equipped to help him than me so I stayed out of the way,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment