None of the witnesses called in the trial’s first day, though, placed the defendant, Jacob Fortney, in the brawl that left Noah Jamahl Jones dead — though their testimony placed him at the party.
Thomas Radcliffe, a paramedic who tried to revive Jones, told an Anne Arundel County jury that it was “pretty much a mob scene” in which police had to keep a crowd at bay while emergency personnel worked in near-darkness to restore Jones’ heartbeat.
Jones, 17, died of a brain injury suffered in the melee July 24. He and three friends — two of whom are accused of bringing weapons — went to a house to retrieve another friend from a party, where they feared he would be beaten by a group of white guests. Jones was black, as are his friends.
Radcliffe testified that paramedics were unsure at first why Jones was unconscious because he appeared to have “minor facial injuries.”
Prosecutors had said in opening remarks that Fortney, 19, one of six youths charged with manslaughter and the first being tried, ran to Jones and kicked him in the head after he was down. Another defendant, Joshua David Bradley, 20, gave that account to investigators, according to pretrial arguments, and is to testify next week in exchange for having charges against him dropped.
Fortney’s attorneys maintain the autopsy will not support that charge against their client.
Though prosecutors have not alleged the victim’s race was a factor in his death, race has become an issue in the case. Several mostly black community groups have court monitors watching the trial. No hate crime is alleged.
Yesterday, a black guest at the party, Tony Gales Jr., said that he did not think race played a role in the fight. Gales described Jones’ friend, Marion Shepherd, as belligerent and waving a handgun at the outdoor party. Shepherd has been charged with pistol-whipping the host.
Prosecutors initially charged four men, including Fortney, with murder. But within the month they dropped the charges and said that the investigation would continue. Within days, the NAACP, contending Jones’ “death had racial overtones,” successfully sought a federal investigation. In November, an Anne Arundel County grand jury indicted the initial four plus two others on the less serious charge of manslaughter and related counts.
Earlier yesterday, DeWayne Hebron, 17, part of Jones’ group, testified that he saw several men kicking Jones, but that he could not identify them.
“The trial is going better than expected for the defense,” David W. Fischer, an attorney for Fortney, said after court ended for the day.
Hebron testified that he tried to save his friend. “I seen Jamahl on the ground with four boys stomping him,” he said.
“I ran to the car and got the hammer,” he continued, explaining that he hit one youth before running back to his friend.
“I said ‘Jamahl, get up! Jamahl, get up!’ and he wasn’t moving,” he said.
Hebron said he cradled his friend in his lap and rebuffed a friend’s move to take Jones to the hospital, insisting on waiting for an ambulance. The siren’s wails are among the last sounds audible in recordings of a series of 911 calls played yesterday.
The day’s testimony, especially hearing Radcliffe describe efforts to revive her son, left Robin Jones red-eyed.
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“I got to listen,” the victim’s mother said through tears. “I got to know what happened.”