Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer's closing argument had a couple of effective moments but other than those exceptions, it was weak in evidence and large on speculation, just like the People's case.
"We don't know why Johnny Renfro was in front of 70 Monument Road. We don't know why he was changing his clothes."
We don't know sums up the sloppy, incomplete biased investigation by the Rio Dell Police Department. That failure was made worse by the District Attorney's decision to charge this case and take it to trial. They could have made a different decision after the preliminary hearing. They were told by Judge Timothy Canning that the evidence was weak against Demetrius Coleman. Charges were dismissed against Alma Ahumadamendoza.
"I will get to the defendant's story because that is what it is; a story." This part of the closing was effective.
The other part that was effective was the EPD testimony by EPD Records Manager Amanda O'Neill about no record of the 2030 Park Avenue robbery. However, that was addressed in the defense closing. The fact that there was no call does not mean it did not happen.
Ms. Schaffer was selective and ignored the weaknesses in her case. She did not address the shoddy investigation by Rio Dell PD and she ignored the inconsistencies of her witnesses. Her claim that Coleman's testimony corroborated Mariah Acosta, Regina Osenbaugh and Jovan Ignjatovic's testimony was ridiculous. She chose selective facts that were not major and did not prove anything about Coleman's guilt.
Unless you were the sleeping or distracted juror, Acosta, Osenbaugh and Ignjatovic were not believable and lacked credibility.
There has been detailed coverage on the Demetrius Coleman jury trial. I have made observations and been upfront how I feel about the People's case.
Ms. Schaffer gave a brief rebuttal. Shortly after 3:30, the case has gone to the jury.
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