Defense asks judge to exclude video of Capital Gazette shooting

Attorneys representing the man charged with killing five Capital Gazette employees asked a judge Tuesday morning to exclude all or parts of security camera video that captured some of the shooting and the moments leading up to it, arguing that showing it to a jury would “prejudice” their client.

Prosecutors called video from inside the newsroom at 888 Bestgate Road in Annapolis the “most important piece of evidence” in the murder trial for the man charged with fatally shooting Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters on June 28, 2018. They urged Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken to dismiss the request.

“The video is basically the silent witness in this case,” State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said. “(It’s) very powerful evidence that shows (Ramos’) intent to kill.”

The team of public defenders representing Jarrod Ramos — who faces five counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, six counts of first-degree assault, among a host of other charges — urged Ripken to consider substituting five still photos instead of the video footage, arguing that prosecutors could make their case without the graphic video.

Ramos pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible — Maryland’s insanity plea — to all 23 counts. Ripken, at Ramos’ request, ordered the trial be split into two phases: first to determine whether he is guilty of offenses, second to determine whether he is insane.

At the requests of both prosecutors and the defense, Ripken said during the morning hearing in Annapolis she would review the footage after the parties finish arguments Tuesday afternoon on other outstanding motions. The judge is considering a number of requests on evidence and other issues during two days of hearings leading up to the start of the trial next month.

“This video illustrates not everything that happens but it certainly tells the story,” Leitess said. “The defense has called (the video) disturbing, well, this crime is disturbing.”

The prosecutor described what is depicted in the roughly 20 to 30 minutes of relevant footage captured at the front and back entrances of the Capital Gazette’s suite on Bestgate Road. The video shows staffers — some who survived the attack, and others who didn’t — “going about their business,” walking to and from lunch and the bathroom and talking to each other, Leitess said.

Then, the video shows Ramos pause as he approaches the front door to check the laser and flashlight on his Mossberg tactical shotgun, Leitess said. When he realizes the door is locked, the video shows Ramos firing through and shattering the glass front doors.

The video shows him shoot in the direction of Smith, a sales assistant, and her attempts to escape after being shot, Leitess said, and Ramos working the pump action on his gun at least 10 times as he fired at others.

“You see victims fleeing for their lives and being blocked because the back door is barricaded,” Leitess said.

Two employees are pictured escaping the newsroom, she said.

Public defender Elizabeth Palan argued that the only value of the video was to identify the shooter and his movements. She said as much could be accomplished in the first 13 seconds of footage “that don’t encompass somebody suffering and bleeding.”

“We’re not trying to neuter anything,” Palan said, responding to a remark of Leitess. “The stills are just as probative as the video itself.”

Ripken said she’d expect to hear arguments on the video again Wednesday morning after she watches the footage.

As Ripken was about to rule on allegations by defense attorneys that prosecutors withheld important information about Ramos, 39, one of his attorneys, Katy O’Donnell, asked the judge to hold off. Prosecutors had dismissed the claims as baseless.

O’Donnell said the defense obtained hundreds of pages of records from the former law firm of Robert Douglas, an attorney who represented the Capital Gazette when Ramos sued for defamation. O’Donnell said the records suggested that representatives from the newspaper met with more police officers than prosecutors told them. As a result, she said, the defense may augment its motion asking Ripken to penalize prosecutors.

Ripken allowed the defense until the end of the day next Tuesday to amend their complaint.

A lengthy jury selection process began Friday with 300 prospective jurors descending upon the County Courthouse on Church Circle to complete a preliminary questionnaire and is expected to extend from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 as the attorneys individually question members of the jury pool. The goal is to select a panel of 12 impartial jurors and an unspecified number of alternates.

Capital Gazette is a part of the Baltimore Sun Media Group.