Chapter 61
Shortly after returning from recess, Beau Lee called an expert witness to the stand to clarify the validity of the video, which he did well.
What was surprising was that the State did not take the opportunity to cross-examine, as Alvarez was sure they would do, but she gathered it could be because DaSilva was just that confident.
The judge had been heavily favoring the State, which left Alvarez and Beau Lee at a disadvantage.
However, Beau Lee looked completely at ease, perhaps even as confident as DaSilva by the end of what seemed to be a perfect line of questioning regarding the contents of the video.
Alvarez kept the same confidence of Beau Lee in the back of her mind after recess when she called Darian to the stand.
She and Joey had arrived the night before the trial.
They were exhausted from the long drive in from Philly, and Beau Lee was worried that Darian would have trouble handling DaSilva’s aggressive line of questioning.
“Ms. King,” Alvarez said, “can you please explain to the court what you saw the night Hollis Montrose was shot.”
“I was studying for my exam when I heard what sounded like shouting over a loudspeaker. Then I saw blue lights, so I went to the window and looked. That’s when I saw a dark-gray SUV and a police car behind it.”
“At what point did you start recording on your phone?”
“One of the officers went over to the SUV and pulled the driver out. That’s when I started recording.”
“Do you recognize the driver in the courtroom today?”
“Yes.”
“Can you point him out?”
Darian pointed to Hollis, who sat with his back straight in his wheelchair. “He’s right there,” she said. “Hollis Montrose.”
“And the officer who pulled him out of the vehicle, do you recognize him?” Alvarez asked. “Is he present in the courtroom today?”
Darian pointed to Jack, who was sitting next to Chaz and Leonard on the bench behind the prosecution’s table. All three men were in uniform, military pressed with crisp, starched lines.
“Please note, Ms. King has identified CPD Officer Jackson Dunham.”
Jack looked perturbed and muttered to Chaz, who sneered at the girl.
Alvarez continued. “What happened after Officer Dunham pulled Officer Montrose out of the vehicle?”
“I could hear through the open window, Mr. Montrose saying something to the officers, but I wasn’t sure what.”
“At any time did you hear Mr. Montrose say he was a police officer?”
“No. I was too far away to hear anything he said.”
“What happened next?”
“Then, another police car pulled up. When the officers got out, they surrounded Hollis…I mean, Mr. Montrose.”
“And…”
“I couldn’t see what was happening to Mr. Montrose,” she said. “The officers blocked my view.”
“At this time, I’d like to inform the jury that the video that has been heavily circulated in the media has not been entered into evidence,” Judge Lambert said. “Please rely only on Ms. King’s testimony. You may proceed, Attorney Alvarez.”
Alvarez glanced at the jury, some of whom seemed surprised by the judge’s announcement. She had fought to present the video recording as evidence, but after people around the world had seen it, Judge Lambert ruled that portions of the video were not admissible into evidence.
“Ms. King, please tell the court what happened next.”
“I heard lots of yelling,” she said, “and then gunshots.”
“Before the shooting, what were the police yelling?” Alvarez asked. “Could you understand what was being said?”
“Only some words,” she said. “One of the officers yelled ‘gun’ and ‘drop the gun.’ ”
“Did you see Mr. Montrose holding a firearm at the time he was shot?”
“No,” she said. “When the officers moved, I could see Mr. Montrose lying still on his stomach, and his hands were empty.”
“He wasn’t moving at all?”
“No, he wasn’t moving.”
“Then what happened?” Alvarez asked.
“One of the officers took something from Mr. Montrose’s waist and put it on the hood of the police car.”
“Any idea what the item was?”
“It looked like a gun.”
“And this came from Mr. Montrose’s waist? Not his hand?”
“That’s right,” she said. “Then the officers were talking to each other. They seemed upset, too. Like they were arguing—”
“Objection,” DaSilva shouted. “Conjecture. There’s no way Ms. King would know what the officers were discussing, or the context.”
“Sustained,” Judge Lambert said. “Ms. Alvarez, please instruct your client to keep to the facts.”
“Certainly, Your Honor.” Alvarez addressed Darian, saying, “Just tell me exactly what you saw, Ms. King.”
“Okay. I’m sorry…The police were talking to each other. Then, I saw an officer take something else from Mr. Montrose.”
“Something in addition to the firearm?”
“Yes.”
“Could you see what it was?”
“Not really, but the officer took it from Mr. Montrose’s pants pocket.”
“Would this be the front or the back pocket?”
“Back.”
“Do you see the officer who removed this object in the courtroom today?”
“Yes,” she said, pointing to Jack. “He’s right there.”
Alvarez looked at the court reporter, who was typing vigorously. “For the record, Ms. King has identified Officer Jackson Dunham,” she said. “Please continue, Ms. King. What happened next?”
“An ambulance came, and more police cars.”
“Ms. King, at any time during the event, did you see Mr. Montrose point his firearm in question at the officers?”
“No,” she said.
“Did you hear Mr. Montrose threaten to shoot or harm the officers?”
“No.”
“At any time, did you see Mr. Montrose attempt to get up from the ground?”
“No.”
“Thank you. That will be all from the defense.”
DaSilva turned to Dillard to see if she was ready to proceed.
She’d been feverishly taking notes and waiting for her opportunity to step up.
Being second chair felt like a support role, and it was a very important support role.
Dillard had to pay close attention to witness testimony and keep track of evidence.
It could be overwhelming, but she wouldn’t let DaSilva see her sweat.
Because of her efforts, DaSilva assigned her to do the cross-examination of Darian King just yesterday.
She stayed up all night getting ready. And, ready she was.
Dillard grabbed her notes and nodded at DaSilva. It was go time.
Dillard stood and moved from behind the prosecution’s table. She walked hard, her high heels clicking and echoing off the courtroom walls. “Ms. King,” she said, “you stated that you began recording out of concern.”
“Yes.”
“Concern for whom?”
“I don’t know. I guess the driver of the SUV. Mr. Montrose.”
“And what made you so concerned?”
Darian seemed unsure of herself. “The way he looked,” she said.
“The way he looked? Can you elaborate?”
“He looked afraid.”
“Afraid?” Dillard repeated. “Joey Henderson’s bedroom window is approximately twenty-two feet from where Hollis Montrose’s vehicle was parked at the time of the incident. Are you suggesting that you were able to see Mr. Montrose’s face through the driver’s side window at that distance?”
“Yes, I could see him.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt you could see him, but being able to determine his facial expression? Well, that’s quite a gift.”
“Objection,” Alvarez said. “The witness already stated she could see Mr. Montrose. This is badgering.”
“Sustained,” Judge Lambert said. “Ms. Dillard, shall we get on with it?”
“Yes, Your Honor. Ms. King, at what point could you determine Mr. Montrose’s skin color?”
“What?”
“Let me rephrase. Since you claim you were able to see facial details from that distance, I presume you were able to see that Hollis Montrose was Black?”
“Um…yes,” Darian said. “I could see he was brown or dark-complected.”
“Is that why you decided to record?”
“His skin color had nothing to do with it.”
“Would you have recorded if the driver was of another ethnicity? For example, Asian or white?”
“I don’t know…probably.”
“Probably? Is it possible that your motive for recording the video had more to do with Mr. Montrose being Black and the officers in question being white?” Dillard asked. “Maybe you were hoping to catch some kind of impropriety, knowing the racial politics that could potentially play out?”
“No,” Darian said, “it had nothing to do with race.”
“Then why did you upload the video to YouTube? Why not turn it over to the police so it could be properly investigated?”
“I was worried—”
“About what?”
“…that the police wouldn’t do anything.”
“Really? And why is that?”
“I mean, you see it in the news all the time,” Darian said. “People get pulled over, and the police do something terrible to them, and no one learns about it until months or even years later. I didn’t want that to happen to Mr. Montrose. I wanted people to know the truth.”
“How many views has the video garnered?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I can tell you,” Dillard said. “It’s had over eight million views. That’s a lot, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what happens when a video goes viral, Ms. King?”
“A lot of people watch it, and it gets likes.”
“Sure, sure, and that translates into dollars. So, tell me, how much money have you made from the video?”
“Money? I haven’t made any money.”
“Is that so, Ms. King? Do you know how much money that video has generated in advertising?”
“How would I know that?”
“Because that’s how it works. You post the video. It gets lots of views, and you pocket a share of the advertising revenue.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Darian said. “I haven’t collected any sort of revenue from the video.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t true,” Dillard said. “According to YouTube’s analytics, the video has made over thirty thousand dollars since it was uploaded.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. We haven’t collected a cent, and if we did, we would’ve given the money to the Montrose family.”
“We?”
“Yes, me and my boyfriend, Joey.”
“Joey Henderson?”
“Yes.”
“Tell the court, Ms. King. Did you or Joey upload the video to YouTube?”
“Joey uploaded it,” Darian said. “It was just easier since he already had an account.”
“Which means any revenue the video generated would go to the person whose account was used. So, to be clear, are you telling me that Joey Henderson uploaded the video you shot to his account and distributed the link?”
Darian looked at Joey as he sat in the rear of the courtroom. “Yes,” she said. “Joey uploaded the video.”
“I see,” Dillard said. “Well, it’s a shame that Mr. Henderson has profited from such an unfortunate incident.”
Darian looked at the defense table with shame in her eyes. “It was never about money. Never. I’m so sorry, Mr. Montrose.”
“That is all from the prosecution,” Dillard said, returning to her seat.
Alvarez leaned over to Beau Lee and whispered, “How the hell did we miss that?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Didn’t consider the video’s monetary value.”
“We better hope there’s no more surprises.”
The two attorneys watched as Darian left the stand in tears and exited the courtroom, pursued by a flustered Joey.