Previous owner of Oxford murder weapon to testify in James Crumbley's trial

James Crumbley learned Wednesday that his upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial will include at least one additional witness that wasn't at his wife's trial: the original owner of the gun his son used to murder four students at Oxford High School.

To the chagrin of the defense, Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews ruled on Wednesday that the prosecution could add the original gun owner as a witness, given his knowledge of the condition of the lock that was on the 9mm handgun when he sold it to a gun shop. According to the prosecution, it's the same lock that was on the gun when James Crumbley purchased it for his son, who, four days later, would use that weapon to shoot up his school.

In a favorable ruling for the defense, however, Matthews granted a request by Crumbley's lawyer to add peremptory challenges during jury selection. These challenges allow lawyers to dismiss a potential juror for any reason. In Jennifer Crumbley's trial, each side was given five peremptory challenges, though James Crumbley's attorney has argued she will need more than that to seat a jury for the dad, given that he goes on trial just one month after his wife's sensational trial, which ended in her being convicted. The judge granted eight challenges.

The prosecution urged Matthews to deny the request for additional juror strikes, maintaining they weren't necessary, though the judge disagreed.

The prosecution, meanwhile, also wants to add two students who were shot in the rampage to its witness list, though Crumbley's lawyer is fighting to keep them out.

At a hearing Wednesday morning, defense attorney Mariell Lehman argued that the students' testimony is irrelevant and unnecessary, given that a teacher and assistant principal who witnessed the massacre will testify and jurors also will see video of the shooting.

Defense: Students' testimony is meant only to enflame jury

Using the students to make the same point is not just excessive, Lehman argued, but prejudicial.

"While I can’t imagine what those students went through …. their testimony is not relevant in the case of James Crumbley," Lehman argued. "He’s not charged with shooting or injuring anyone."

Moreover, she added: "The primary purpose of (the students') testimony is to enflame the emotions of the jury."

Assistant Oakland Prosecutor Marc Keast disagreed, and noted that the prosecution may not actually call on the students to testify. Rather, he said, the prosecution may need them should other witnesses become unavailable for any number of reasons, including the impact of emotional testimony, illness or inclement weather.

Keast also argued that the two potential student witnesses would offer different testimony than the teacher and assistant principal because they were in a different location when the shooting occurred. The students, he said, were in Hallway 200 and saw the shooter as he emerged from a bathroom and opened fire, killing two students in Hallway 200 and injuring several others, including the two potential witnesses who survived.

Students did not testify in Jennifer Crumbley's trial

While the jury will see video of the shooting, Keast argued it's important for the jury to hear from witnesses who saw the gunman at the start of his rampage, including the two students.

"We are limited to the individuals we can call from that hallway because two were murdered," Keast said.

Keast added that the teacher who was shot in her office and the assistant principal who encountered the gunman during the shooting are also available and will be testifying in James Crumbley's trial, which is scheduled to begin March 5.

Matthews said she would issue a decision soon on whether the student witnesses will be allowed to testify in the father's trial. Students did not testify in Jennifer Crumbley's trial, but prosecutors sought to add them to the witness list for James Crumbley's case, saying the emotional impact of witness testimony in the mother's trial may be such that school officials won't be able to testify again.

James Crumbley is charged with involuntary manslaughter for buying his son the gun that he used to shoot up his school and for not disclosing that information to the school when given the opportunity. Another pretrial hearing is scheduled next week. The father's attorneys also have moved to block testimony about the shooter's text messages and journal entries because the defense cannot cross-examine the teen, who has refused to testify in his parents' trials.

James Crumbley's trial comes one month after an Oakland County jury convicted his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, on the same charges, making her the first parent in America to be held criminally responsible for a mass shooting carried out by their child.

Killed in the shooting were Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17. Six other students and a teacher were wounded.

The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to all his crimes and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge allows original gun owner to testify against James Crumbley