Prosecutors appeared to have an ironclad case Monday as multiple eyewitnesses described watching Charles Richardson shoot his friend in the face, but a Howard jury must now decide whether the Columbia man was criminally responsible while drinking and doing drugs.
Richardson, 24, of Columbia, faces up to life in prison if convicted of the first-degree murder of Trae “Ace” Allen, 19, of Columbia, whom police found dead May 21, 2007, inside Richardson’s Brook Way town house.
Richardson has pleaded not criminally responsible, but during opening arguments Monday, prosecutors described a cold-blooded, premeditated murder that left an aspiring music artist dead.
Allen’s best friend, Joseph Beard, 26, of Columbia, testified Monday that he and Allen, along with two friends, were drinking and smoking marijuana at Richardson’s house May 20, 2007, when Richardson said he was going to “catch a body” or kill someone.
Richardson then confronted Allen by saying, “I’m the realest n—– in here,” testified Lisa Canning, 20, who also witnessed the shooting.
Both witnesses testified that Richardson pulled a pistol out of his jacket sleeve and shot Allen in the face at close range.
They said Allen stumbled around holding his head, but all the friends fled without calling an ambulance because they were too “in shock.”
Defense attorney Mark Van Bavel questioned the witnesses about Richardson’s behavior, asking whether he appeared to be intoxicated, high on drugs or acting abnormal.
He told the jury that a person can be unable to form the intent to kill because of drug use or alcohol, and said Richardson was often “drinking and drugging.”
“This was a senseless act that grew out of a troubled mind,” he said.
The trial is expected to continue through Friday before Howard Circuit Judge Diane Leasure.
Richardson also is scheduled for trial next month in the slaying of Alevtina Zhilina, 40, who was shot during an attempted armed robbery in April 2007 at a 7-Eleven convenience store. Richardson could face the death penalty in that case.
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