Frederick homicide victim's backpack on display in day 3 of trial
Oct. 30—White Russian cigars, an iPhone 11 box, a pair of men's underwear, multicolored socks, a black fanny pack and more items that reportedly belonged to a dead man were on display in a Frederick County courtroom Friday.
They were among the contents of a red and black backpack offered as evidence by the prosecution in the homicide trial of Frederick resident Jordan B. Hooks, 29. A police officer told the jury in day three of the trial the backpack was once the possession of 19-year-old Jaemari A. Anderson, who died after being shot in the Waterside Community of Frederick Sept. 6, 2020.
Sgt. Joseph McCallion of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office testified Friday he responded to Waterside in the early hours of Sept. 7, 2020. McCallion said he found Anderson's backpack in the basement of Hooks' home in the 8000 block of Waterview Court after Hooks offered a description. Hooks and Anderson were supposedly friends and hanging out at Hooks' home with some others before the shooting, according to police charging documents. A conflict within the group reportedly led to Hooks and Anderson agreeing to fight outside.
Donning black gloves in court, McCallion removed items from the backpack that he said was found at the Hooks residence. A Ziploc bag with what the sergeant called a "green leafy substance," a lighter, a pair of mostly gray gym shorts, deodorant, a cocoa butter product and a digital scale were also pulled from the backpack.
One of the defense attorneys, Kevin Watkins, pressed Detective Jacob Jersild, also of the sheriff's office, about the time at which police told occupants of the Hooks residence they could not move about their residence freely without law enforcement present. A search warrant was reportedly in progress. Jersild struggled to pin down a close-to-exact time in response to Watkins' question.
During a tense moment in cross examination, Watkins suggested Jersild had answers for prosecutors but could hardly answer the defense's queries, eliciting an objection from the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office, which Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sustained. And later, when Jersild started to answer another question relevant to time, Watkins seemed to grow frustrated.
"You know how we do it on this planet," Watkins told Jersild, who did reply after the judge stepped in, pointing out the detective was trying to answer.
Looking ahead, what's to come in the trial will likely revolve around linking the alleged murder weapon to Hooks.
Prior to the jurors entering court Friday, Martz-Fisher heard arguments from the defense as to why they believe certain cell phone video and audio evidence should be excluded from the trial. The videos in question include who prosecutors say is Hooks gesturing with a handgun in the 48 hours prior to the shooting.
Assistant State's Attorney Timothy Gilbert said the state intends to call an eye witness who can identify the gun and speak to its disposal after the shooting, in addition to at least one police expert.
Conversely, Watkins said "there's no way to tell" the supposed gun in the videos is the same as the homicide weapon, and he characterized the content as irrelevant. Watkins likened the clips to low-grade rap videos. The videos shown in court Thursday, outside of the jury's view (as is typical for this type of motion), depicted Hooks and others gesturing with supposed guns, cash and dancing along to music.
"They are laughing, carrying on," Watkins said. "No plans being made to do anything to anybody."
Gilbert "absolutely" disagreed with Watkins' suggestion that the alleged gun in the video cannot be linked to the homicide weapon.
Martz-Fisher will wait to make a decision on whether the videos and audio in question can be used in the trial, saying it wasn't the appropriate time to decide. The trial is set to resume Monday morning.
Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller
