jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601
DURHAM -- Moments after District Attorney Tracey Cline rested the state's case in the first-degree murder trial of Angel Luis Richardson, one of the defense lawyers fighting for Richardson explained to jurors he's been arguing about the wrong suspect -- but for good reason.
Richardson is charged with the Dec. 4, 2006 killing of Marlon Rand, whose body was discovered behind the Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA) North Street facility.
Up to this point in Richardson's trial, which started toward the end of January, defense lawyer Jonathan Broun said his defense theory was based on getting jurors to conclude that Reginald "Little Head" Jones killed Rand, then 23. But Broun on Tuesday told jurors he now has relatively fresh evidence pointing to Lemuel Sherman as the killer.
Sherman at one point was charged with first-degree murder for Rand's death. But he was sentenced on a lesser charge and has since been freed.
Durham Police Department Officer Jonathan Butler, who also said he does work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testified about a statement from a man who said he delivered money to Sherman for killing Rand. The man said Sherman said he killed Rand, Butler said.
Although Broun explained to jurors he was tweaking his defense theory, the lawyer said he was not abandoning his premise that they should find Angel Richardson not guilty of murdering Rand.
"We still 100 percent stand behind that," Broun said.
