Fatal street race cases inching toward trials

Defense continuing bid to exclude evidence

Friday, June 19, 2009

Tavon Jamarr Taylor, 20, and Darren Jamar Bullock, 22, were charged in July 2008 with eight counts of vehicular manslaughter after eight people were killed and eight others were injured the morning of Feb. 16, 2008.

During the hearing Monday and Tuesday before Judge Michael P. Whalen, defense attorneys challenged the training and methods of expert witnesses and evidence the state's prosecutor sought to introduce to the case.

The defense challenged the accuracy of security videos taken the night of the accident from the nearby Beretta gun factory in Accokeek, video animations that prosecutors say depict how the accident happened, and the methods used to analyze tire markings in the road to arrive at speed calculations for vehicles allegedly driven by Taylor and Bullock during the accident.

Judge Whalen allowed the state's witnesses to testify as experts but deferred until July 29 his ruling on whether to allow the video and animation evidence in the trial or not.

Prince George's County police allege the two men were racing when Bullock's car plowed into a crowd of 200 spectators at the intersection of Indian Head Highway and Pine Drive, near the Charles County border.

Both Taylor and Bullock pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Michael R. Pearson, the assistant state's attorney, sought to allow two expert witnesses to testify to the scientific accuracy of the Beretta security video and an animation depicting the events that lead to the crash, including Christopher Hinkson, a Prince George's County police investigator assigned to the case, and Donald Bellfield, a forensic video analysis expert.

But attorneys for Taylor and Bullock raised questions about whether Hinkson and Bellfield were qualified to be experts or not and if their training encompassed the scientific knowhow to attribute skid marks in the road to vehicles and testify about accident reconstruction and vehicle identification.

Defense attorneys grilled Hinkson as to whether his primary training in accident reconstruction completed 10 years ago was sufficient to make calculations of speed and velocity used in an animation depiction the accident.

"Have you ever testified as an accidental reconstruction expert in a criminal case?" asked Janet Hart, an attorney for Bullock.

Hinkson, visibly annoyed, replied, "No."

J. Wyndal Gordon, Taylor's attorney, questioned Hinkson about whether his training allowed him to conclusively determine by looking at photos of skid marks taken from the scene that the marks were made by Taylor's car.

"You cannot identify a particular skid mark from a particular vehicle," he said.

The hearings were meant to clear the way for more evidence relating to videos and animations but hit a snag when Judge Whalen determined more time was needed to fully discuss the validity of the video evidence.

Pearson said he was pleased that his witnesses were accepted as experts but said no substantive ruling has been made relating to which evidence they will be able to testify to.

Taylor's case is scheduled to begin July 20, and Bullock's is scheduled for Sept. 14. Judge Whalen will preside over the trials.

jgarner@gazette.net