CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Judge Forrest Bridges will hear from a possible witness in the Demeatrius Montgomery case but will do so without the newly seated jury present.
Friday, the defense moved to allow a jury to hear testimony from William Richardson, the man who says that a different man, Octavious Elmore, killed two Charlotte Mecklenburg police officers in 2007.
The prosecution moved to quash that motion.
Richardson’s name came up previously during pre-trial hearings.
Richardson says that he saw Elmore at the Timber Ridge Apartments in March 2007. That is the apartment complex where Officer Jeff Shelton and Officer Sean Clark were shot and killed.
Richardson says Elmore called him, looking for a place to ‘lay low’ and said he had killed two cops.
Elmore and Richardson were both arrested on charges unrelated to each other in April 2008 and shared time in the same jail pod. Richardson says Elmore bragged again that he had killed two cops during that time.
Prosecutors say Richardson is a liar. They say that he is seeking help with robbery charges.
Prosecutors also say it’s unlikely that Elmore would confide in Richardson because the two are rival gang members.
According to the prosecutor, the ballistics report conclusively links the bullets taken from the bodies with the murder weapon. Additionally, Elmore’s DNA is not on the gun, but Montgomery’s DNA is a match to DNA found on the weapon.
Judge Bridges says he will make a ruling once he hears from Richardson himself, which means Richardson will testify, but not in front of a jury.
