5:20 The Judge says they have heard from numerous witnesses and admitted numerous items as evidence. He goes through each of the 16 charges, listing the witnesses who corroborated evidence creating probable cause that the defendant committed that crime.
Dalton was bound over. No trial date has been set.
Given today’s behavior by the Defendant, they may be seeking a second psychiatric evaluation, which could slow the process.
5/20 at 3:08 p,m. Det. Gonyeau was provided with the cell phone belonging to Jason Dalton for examination. He obtained a warrrant and then downloaded data from the phone, recovering pictures and data from the phone linking it with Dalton. He was able to use AT&T and Uber to track Dalton’s movements that night.
The defense challenged his testimony as Here say, because the information was obtained from a third party. The objection was sustained.
Det.Gonyeau steps down. He was the Prosecution’s last witness.
Prosecutor Getting launches into his final arguements that three witnesses placed Dalton at the three scenes and forensic experts put guns owned by Dalton at the three crime scenes. He urges the judge to bind Dalton over for trial.
5/20 at 2:58 p.m. Trooper Crump responded to the Cracker Barrel that night later receiving guns and shells for examination. He also examined several of the victim’s cars and removed shells.
He describes the unique marks that bullets and shell casings are imprinted with when they are fired from guns, and how they can be matched. Crump says they use microscopes to compare shells taken from the crime scenes with test shots. He says that the shell casings from Meadows Apartments and from Dalton’s Chevy Equinox matched a Glock belonging to Dalton.
Trooper Crump testified that shells recovered from the Cracker Barrell Parking lot and the Chevy at that scene and from the KIA dealership matched the Walther taken from Dalton at the time of his arrest.
Crump steps down.
MSP Technical Services Unit Detective Sgt. Paul Gonyeau takes the stand.
5/20 at 2:45 p.m. After the break Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Marceo Behnen testifies what was viewed in the security video from the KIA dealership on Stadium, which captured the crime. He responded to the traffic stop of the HHR on Ransom Street to deterimine if the suspect in the video matched the man in custody. He says they matched.
He then formally identified Dalton as the man he observed that night. He transported Dalton to Public Safety for interrogation. He retreived a 9 mm bullet from his pocket and observed Dalton was wearing a bullet proof vest.
Behnen steps down. after a breif cross examination challenging his identification from the video.
State Police firearms expert Jeff Crump is called.
5/20 at 2:23 p.m. Michigan State Trooper Paul Plangger takes the stand. Gives breif forensic testimony about shell casings and steps down.
Kalamazoo County Sherriff’s Deputy Jim Harrison takes the stand. He testified he was called to a bogus call of a shooting on Lafayette Street. He just happened to be downtown when he spots the HHR in the parking lot of the Up and Under Bar. He began to shadow the vehicle, gave the license number to dispatch and began to call for back up before making a traffic stop. He followed the HHR down Michigan Avenue to the Wild Bull Bar, and then headed northbound on Porter Street. He followed the HHR to Ransom Street and was joined by other officers and initiated the traffic stop.
He then ordered the driver to stick his hands out the window and after a while Dalton complied. He got the suspect out of the car while two other officers are providing cover. A search of his body produced a loaded pistol in his right pocket. A 9.mm Walther. He identifies a picture of the gun which is admitted as evidence.
Harrison formally identifies Dalton as the man he arrested that night.
The Defense does not cross examine.
Harrison steps down and the Judge orders a ten minute recess.
5/20 at 2:02 p.m. State Police Trooper Cody Donnay takes the stand. He is the first officer on the scene at the Cracker Barrel. He testifies that he checked the pulse of the victims and found Barbara Hawthorne talking to dispatch on her cell phone in the rear seat. He applied first aid waiting for EMT’s to arrive. He and Officer Scott Brooks marked 11 shell casings. marked them but did not touch them. He then secured the site, taping it off.
PUblic Safety Officer Scott Brooks takes the stand next. He arrived at the Cracker Barrel and began assessing the victims for first aid. He found three women and determined they were dead. They then removed Abigail Kopf from the front passenger seat of the Red car and began life saving efforts. Gives graphic description of her wounds.
Brooks also testified that he was involved in the felony stop on Ransom Street that resulted in the arrest of Jason Dalton. He arrived after the stop had already been made, and described the arrest. He did not make contact wth Dalton during the arrest, or did not search the vehicle. He did see the handgun taken off Dalton’s person, and took photos of the gun.
Brooks Identifies Dalton as the suspect who was arrested that night.
Brooks steps down.
5/20 at 1:38 p.m. Officer Neldon steps down and Richard Solomon is called to the stand. He is the husband of the manager at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant off 9th Street, the third shooting scene. He was just pulling in when he saw the dark blue HHR pull out at a high rate of speed, almost striking him.,without its lights on. He was able to get a lquick ook at the driver. He was a white heavy set man with facial hair. Could only see that he was wearing darker clothes. He also saw his wife standing outside.
He walked over to a red car with an odd looking back window and noticed that it was running. He also looked into the van next to it and no one was moving in either vehicle. He told his wife to call 9-1-1. The Red car was riddled with bullet holes.
When asked, he identifies Dalton as the man he saw that night. Defense Attorney Eusebio challenges his identification, but Solomon is firm.
5/20 at 1:25 Ms. Cornish steps down after a breif cross examination. KDPS Forensic Technichian Tod Neldon called to the stand. He testified he was dispatched to Meadow Place, the KIA lot and the Douglass Ave. residence of the suspect. . Presents testimony about the collection of shell casings at various crime scenes. He testifies that they were all the same brand of 9 mm cartridge. He also talked about collecting trace evidence at the scenes, including a fingerprint on a car at the KIA lot and a few DNA swabs.
Dalton, looking desheveled and angry is glaring at the screen back at the Jail, where he has been sequesterd after his earlier outbursts in court. He is being restrained on either side by deputies who are applying pressure to his shoulders, to keep him seated.
5/20 at 1:10 p.m. Ms. Cornish has identified the HHR that the gunman used on the night of the killing spree enter the KIA lot but did not see where it went. Soon after she saw a stranger enter her field of view wearing all black with grey hair and glasses. He walked passed the car she was sitting in and walked up to the Smiths, asked them what they were doing and then opened fire as they turned to answer. She saw them fall to the ground. She then ducked behind the seat so the gunman would not see her.
. He then left the area. She got out to get Tyler’s phone to call 9-1-1. The victims were not moving.
She was not asked to identify Dalton as the gunman.
Update 5/20 at 1 p.m. Sgt. Dunlop has completed his testimony and Alexis Cornish has taken the stand. She is the girlfriend of murder victim Tyler Smith who witnessed the shootings at the Kia Dealership on Stadium Drive where Tyler and his dad, Richard were killed.
UPDATE 5/20 at 12:50 p.m.: Dunlop said he found five shell casings in a silver Chevrolet Equinox leased by Jason Dalton and his wife.
Dunlop said investigators found 10 shell casings at townhome complex Carruthers was shot at.
UPDATE 5/20 at 12:35 p.m.: Sgt. James Dunlop with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office takes the stand.
He was one of the investigators at the townhome complex Carruthers was shot at.
Dunlop also took part in other portions of the investigation.
He said Dalton’s wife turned over a gun to the sheriff’s office.
On screen, Dalton is sitting in his chair, fidgeting, nodding and attempting to talk. His microphone has been muted.
UPDATE 5/20 at 12:31 p.m.: Solis claims that Carruthers did not pick out Dalton’s photo immediately after she entered the hospital, which he says runs counter to her claim that she would never forget the gunman’s face.
Carruthers has been excused from the stand.
UPDATE 5/20 at 12:23 p.m.: Tiana Carruthers looks toward the screen and says it was Jason Dalton who shot her.
“I can never forget his face,” Carruthers said.
Carruthers is now being cross-examined by Dalton’s attorney, Eusebio Solis.
On screen, Dalton is being flanked by two officers.
UPDATE 5/20 at 12:20 p.m.: Tiana Carruthers told Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting that she told the children she was with to run when she saw the gunman, allegedly Jason Dalton.
“I wasn’t concerned about myself,” Carruthers said. “I was concerned about the kids.”
She said she pretended that she was dead after being shot four times. She continued to play dead until she was told that the children were safe.
“Every single day I hurt,” Carruthers said of her physical condition after the attack. “Every single day.”
On the video hook-up, Dalton’s eyes were darting across the screen before the hearing resumed.
UPDATE 5/20 at 12:11 p.m.: The hearing has resumed.
As previously reported, Dalton is participating in the proceedings using a video hook-up from jail. Tiana Carruthers will return to the stand.
UPDATE 5/20 at 10:48 a.m.: Dalton will participate in the rest of the hearing from jail.
Courtroom employees were unable to set up a secure room from inside the courthouse with teleconferencing capabilities.
The recess has been extended until noon.
UPDATE 5/20 at 10:20 a.m.: Kalamazoo mass-murder suspect Jason Dalton has been escorted from the courtroom.
Dalton directed a verbal outburst at shooting victim Tiana Carruthers during his preliminary hearing Friday morning. He briefly left his chair before he was pulled from the courtroom by officers.
An emotionally-shaken Carruthers was also removed from the courtroom by family and friends.
The hearing is currently in recess.
ORIGINAL STORY:
KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Suspected mass-murderer Jason Dalton is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. to determine if there is enough evidence on the 16 felony counts he faces to warrant a trial, following a shooting spree in February.
The 45-year-old from Cooper Township is officially charged with six counts of open murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and eight counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Several things could happen that could affect the length of the hearing.
There is a chance Dalton’s defense attorney, Eusebio Solis, could ask for a delay given the complexities of the case, which was investigated by three separate police agencies. The district judge would have to grant his motion.
Solis also has the option, with the consent of his client to waive the preliminary hearing and proceed to circuit court.
It’s a strategy often employed by defense attorneys in high profile cases. It prevents the prosecution’s evidence against the suspect from being splashed all over the media before the case goes to trial.
It may also make it easier to find an unbiased jury later.
If there is a hearing on all 16 charges, it could take all day, maybe longer. Prosecutor Jeff Getting said he is prepared to call between six and eight witnesses, including investigators, if required and won’t need to rely on the statements made by Dalton during police interrogation to get the case to trial.
The defense may ask to have some of those statements suppressed.
– Anthony Pollreisz contributed to this story
