So Sure, Too Sure!

ONE WEEK LATER-

The Murder Trial of Ruby Cottrell 

began with a new Judge....

We were familliar with Judge Conrad.He was tough, but fair..and he had no personal affiliation with us.  We had practiced in his court before, but that was a s far as it went.

ADA Amanda "Mandy " Cole was ecstatic..Certain she had an advantage..

She and Lt. Tragg who been seen at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner as well as out for drinks had gotten pretty chummy..

In the Judges Chambers hours before the trial

The two were getting chummier, kissing passionately...

"Arthur...Arthurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr come on now...we'll have time for this after the trial.." she cooed..

"I've been waiting a long time baby.." moaned Lt. Tragg.

"Not long..Not much longer..." she moaned..

"Arthur, we are not going to have sex in here...Now come onnnnnnnnn,stopp." she giggled..

He had her dress hiked up and had his hands deep down into her panties..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." he moaned..

"Arthurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr calm down..." she cooed...

"Ohhhhhhhh you've got me ready to explode.." he moaned...

"Don't, please don't..." she said softly..

"Arthur, Stop it!" she commanded and removed his hands, eased out of his embrace and straightened out her clothes..

His Trousers were standing out like a circus tent..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm..I think you're going to need a minute....I'll see you in the courtroom."she laughed..

Lt. Tragg was breathing heavy and trying to get himself together.

Voir dire had been a game of wits between Nelson and  ADA Coles..

He had heard how  Keith Jones and Kahlil Ahmed..

had battled her and had lost 7 her way and 5 their way in a battle for jurors a few weeks before.. But they , though skilled as they were, were not as skilled and experienced as he was.. He battled ADA Cole to a 7 our way, 5 her way win in securing jurors...

 because our investigation wasn't completely finished..

Olivia and Beverly's hopes of a quick Preliminary win was stymied..Though they argued valiantly..

They were forced to hold back most of the cards we had planned to play...and thus , a trial was ordered.

I assured an increasingly nervous Ruby Cottrell that she had nothing to worry about..

But in the days leading up to the trial, her faith in us was beginning to diminish somewhat..

Attorney Arthur Trout was at the trial to remind her that this wasn't over and that Olivia and Beverly "know what they are doing...I've seen them win cases a lot more difficult than yours.." he said.

II-

ADA Cole began her opening statement ,telling the jury that Ruby Cottrell was a functioning alcoholic ,who was a regular at Cappy's Rooftop Bar and knew the defendent quite well...She brought forth witness after witness who testified that they heard and saw the victim buy drinks , pass marijuana to Ms. Cottrell and even give her flowers , all for a chance to sleep with her.. They all said that Ms. Cottrell refused except on the one night , when drunkenly, she did leave with him..

His room was right below the bar.. She said that ''Something went horribly wrong in that room, Bailey may have gotten a little fresh with her, he may have assaulted her...ending in Ms. Cottrell shooting him and robbing him of $2500.00and fleeing with the murder weapon."

Olivia, Beverly and Nelson did a good job on cross of asking these witnesses what they heard and what they actually saw...and weeding out hearsay...It didn't really do much damage, but it was a great stalling technique..

ADA Cole then showed the jury on a 50 inch screen , photos of the crime scene...and the dead William Bailey. Naturally the shock value worked..

She called the Crime Scene Investigators who reported that they found the defendent's fingerprints and

DNA all over the room...

Dr. Hazel Baylor, Forensic Investigator and Deputy Coroner stated that the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head caused by a .40 caliber Pistol.

When Lt. Tragg testified to his findings and the fingerprint and DNA evidence and his interviews with over 100 witnesses, we got the chance we were waiting for..

Josie asked him did the thought that there might have been someone else in that room ever occur to him,and  naturally he said no..

She asked him if he knew that there were at least two people who would testify to it being a third person in that room..

He said he wasn't aware..

She asked him if he checked the victim's phone for his last calls..

He said he did not..

All of this made him look very suspect..

ADA  Cole argued that this was all conjecture...

Olivia called two people, one a woman in the room directly across from Bill Bailey, who said she heard him arguing with another man ,just minutes before she heard what sounded like a shot..

Beverly showed a record of his last phone call from a drug dealer named Artis Ross that they planned to call..

Lt. Tragg was as red as a beat...He was furious... Josie, Olivia and Beverly  had opened up doubts about his detective work...He was furious at them for making him look like a bumbling idiot.

Nelson asked him if he had checked the registration of the gun? Apparently the murderer had forgotten that the gun was legally registered to John Lonnigan. He showed the jury a copy of the registration.

They were stunned. A number of them were shaking their heads...

Lt. Tragg was furious at being asked these questions and humiliated like this..

ADA Coles shot him an Icy stare. She shook her head... 

Olivia showed a close up of the wound...

"Our victim , Mr. William Bailey is six foot ,four, 240 pounds...while my client is five foot ,four, 175 pounds...She's left handed... Judging from the entrance of this wound...our shooter is at least six foot, three inches and from the angle it went in...about five feet...Again, I call Dr.Hazel Baylor to testify to this." she said.

So Dr. Hazel Baylor had the dubious distinction of testifying for the defense and the prosecution...She and another man ascertained that the scientific facts led to the possible assumption that indeed ,someone else fired the shots..

We had scored big on that...Very big...

Nelson said that that alone had shifted the jury, 9 to acquit, 2 undecided and just 1 to convict....Not what ADA Coles wanted..

She kept her wits about her and tried her best to do damage control....and closing quickly with a 90 minute soliloquy...and resting her case..

She looked at the five of us and smiled sweetly..convinced that she had done her job, despite the gaping holes we had knocked into her case.

"I'm impressed...She came prepared..She did very good,"said Olivia, laughing..

"Yeah, but not good enough.." said Beverly.

"It's been a week..We need to open tomorrow and get this jury swinging our way...It's 6-6 right now."said Nelson..

"I like our odds." said Josie.

"So do I.." I said.

"Ouuuuuuuuu look at em, laughing, all smug..."he snarled..

"It's just an act...Although they did prove to be quite formidable...I tip my hat to them.."laughed ADA Amanda Cole, certain, she had pulled out a Victory.

III-

Olivia didn't want to waste any time in between the prosecution resting and she beginning her defense..she opened , telling the jury that she understood they had jobs and families they wanted to go to..

She told them simply..."My client was in that room with Bill Bailey...They had had consensual sex and she was asleep ,dead to the world..and so high, so drunk and out of it..She didn't hear the real killer enter and shoot Bill Bailey."

Beverly showed the Jury a Photo of Bill Bailey, his jewelry and his fancy cars..He owned two.. He made his money by taking part in High stakes Poker games both in Atlantic City and here in Philadelphia.

They brought in twenty people, Gamblers from Atlantic City and Philadelphia , who could attest to that.

Nelson brought in Drug Dealer ,Artis Ross, who testified that Bill Bailey also made his money by floating a package on the street, Heroin, Cocaine and Opiates...

Artis Ross testified that he was the head of at least three organizations that sold drugs for Bill Bailey..and that on the night he died, a white guy identified as John Lonnigan was with him and begging for Heroin...He's an Insurance Banker...Real well to do dude and a heroin addict..He was jonesin and wanted a "bump" on credit.. Bill told me no..To send him on his way...So I did." he testified.

Josie held the murder weapon, a .40 caliber pistol up for the jury to see..

and registration papers.. It was registered to John Lonnigan..

Olivia and Beverly next called Bob Crater, a local businessman, who was in the room next door to Bill Bailey..

"Yeah ,I saw the two of them when they came to the room, they were loud and laughing and definitely had consenual sex...I heard em all night long...It was like they were having a marathon." he said.

This brought guffaws of laughter and then the bombshell...

''Around daybreak after those two had finally quieted down.."..I had drifted off to sleep, they had finally stopped all that racket and then I heard a loud bamming on his door.. He got up an I heard him grumble.. "You the motherfucker that been bammin on the walls all night?" He thought it was me...but it wasn't.. He said.. "What are you doin here?" And then I heard a male voice go.. "Look man...I'm sick...I need it...I told you that in the bar last night.." And he said.. "Get the hell out of here..I aint got nothin in my room and I don't deal, you gotta go to one of my suppliers, now as you can see...I got company." Then I heard a bang...Like a shot! and some thumpin and bumpin...Then the door slammed and nothin.."said Bob Crater..

The Jury gasped....This was the second person to say that he heard another man in the room...

ADA Cole went berserk...She went hard on him on cross, but we had prepped him..He held firm to his story without wavering..He was asked why he didn't go to the police..He said he was scared and he didn't want whoever coming back to shoot him, something the jury understood...She asked him if he was sure he was even awake..??

"Come on Lady, I know if I was awake or not...You had to hear the way those two had been carryin on all night long,like two cats in heat...It was impossible for anybody to get any sleep..I was still awake and I know I heard a guy knock on his door..I didn't see him, but I heard them arguing and then I heard a shot...Now that's the truth." he said.

He was a jury favorite...They loved him..

Nelson had the jury at 12-0 to acquit now...He smiled with glee..

I walked in the courtroom with Johnny Lonnigan, the Investment Banker...I had found him and had slapped him with a court summons..

He looked a lot better than he had , when I found him... He denied knowing both Bill Bailey and Artis Ross and said he did not own a gun...He said he was nowhere near Cappy's on the night of the murder..

Olivia called at least five people, two women and three men who testified that he indeed knew both men and had bought Heroin off of Ross and been seen having drinks with Bailey.

Beverly showed him video footage of him and Bill Bailey just a week before in Cappy's Rooftop Bar...

Then she showed him video footage taken from a traffic cam of his car leaving the building at 6:45 am in the morning...just minutes after Bill Bailey had been shot.

"You have perjured yourself Mr. Bailey...want to come again?" asked Beverly..

He was jittery....

Josie produced the gun and the registration...

"This is your gun...Instead of placing it in the sleeping Ruby Cottrell's hands..You should have kept it.."she said.

"You shot Bill Bailey and you robbed him of $2500.00...The exact amount of money you deposited in your bank account just hours later...Co-incidence??" asked Nelson..

"I aint sayin nothin...Nothin.." he snarled..

"That's very smart of you." said Olivia

"We rest our case."said Beverly..

Once again ADA Cole gave a long , (one hour) closing argument...It went nowhere and all it did was irritate the jury...

This case was over and she had lost it whether she wanted to admit it or not.

IV-

THIRTY MINUTES LATER-

"The Jury is back, Ruby..you're a free woman...Own it...I'm 100 percent certain.."said Josie.

"I don't know, that woman was long winded...and pretty damn convincing.."said Ruby..

"I'm Telling you...Olivia and Beverly are experts at this...If I didn't think they could get you off..I wouldn't have brought you to them...Trust me, have a little faith,."said Arthur Trout..

Olivia held my hand..

I stood stoically..

Beverly held Nelson's hand..

Of all of us he looked the most confident..

ADA Coles looked supremely confident..Almost cocky..

Lt. Tragg snaked his hand up under her skirt...She removed his hand firmly...

The Judge came in ..

" Baillif, can I see the verdict?" he said.

He read the verdict and chuckled..

"Okay, read it.." he said.

"COUNT ONE, USE OF AN INSTRUMENT OF CRIME, NOT GUILTY!"

"COUNT TWO, FIRST DEGREE MURDER, NOT GUILTY"

"COUNT THREE, CONSPIRACY TO COMMITT  FIRST DEGREE MURDER, NOT GUILTY"

The Jury was polled and they all said.. "NOT GUILTY"

"I would like to thank the members of this jury for your patience and attention to detail...You are dismissed..as of now...You all can gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." he said and did his two step..

The jury and the attorneys all laughed,

"Oh Bailiffs, take Mr. Lonnigan into custody...Hold him on First Degree Murder charges." he said.

"OH MY GOD...YOU GUYS ARE THE TRUTH!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!  MR. TROUT WAS RIGHT!! OH THANK YOU MS. OLIVIA, MS.BEVERLY, MR. DONNIE RAY,MS. JOSIE AND MR.NELSON...THANK YOU FOR GETTING ME OFF!" Ruby said, crying profusely and hugging all of us..

"I don't take these cases personally usually, but it sure felt good handing Amanda a defeat.."said Olivia.

"I know what you mean...Both you and Ms. Yvette have beaten her now."said Beverly...

"You've both avenged your loss of that debate during law school."I said, hugging both "my girls"...

"Never had a doubt in my mind.."said Nelson..

"Ohhh this was so sweet.."said Josie..

"Ruby...I told you they were the best...I told you.."said Arthur Trout...

"Unbelievable.....I 've lost two cases....and in both cases...Your uninspired detective work was the cause..Unbelievable...Maybe you need remedial training..Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she groaned , grabbed her briefcase and stormed out...

"Mandy, wait!! Please.."said Lt. Tragg, furious..and looking for us...but it was too late..we had already slipped out...

He was left to face the press , which as usual was jeering him...

"Why don't you surprise us and arrest someone who is actually guilty?" asked a reporter..

"Watch it Lou!" he snarled...

Things were pretty much back to normal.

IV-

John Lonigan was convicted of 2nd degree Murder and sentenced to 25-50 years in prison.

Ruby entered rehab for Alcohol and Drug rehabilitation and from what we hear is doing good, living a clean and sober life..

Nelson was able to get her a job at an accounting firm he knew and she is doing quite well.

Beverly and Josie represented Artis Ross in court...He had testified for us in our defense of Ruby and had testified against Johnny Lonnigan during his murder trial. This was all in his favor..He was only charged with possession of a controlled substance...They got the secondary charge dropped. That was possession with intent to distribute, since he hadn't actually sold them anything.

They proffered a deal with ADA Ron Harper and he got a two year suspended sentence.. No jail time...

He was both surprised and happy as he walked out of court , a free man.

"Heyyy you girls is alright , for a couple of lawyers...Maybe we can uh hang out...huh?" said Artis Ross.

"Nah, I don't think so...My husband wouldn't like that.."laughed Beverly...

"My man wouldn't like it either..Just be glad you're out of jail....See ya around.." said Josie..

We all got to see Gary Lockwood's beautiful house.. 

He and Ms. Yvette hosted a big dinner that night for all of us.. Everybody pitched in and brought groceries and beverages ...

There was more food and Beverages than you could shake a stick at..

Olivia and I, Beverly and Nelson  ,Josie and Paris and Alfreda and Rockland were the first there, but certainly not the last...

Keith Jones, Bee Bee Evans, Kahlil Ahmed, Sofia Garcia, Jade Lee, Jazzy, Dabnis, Kayla and Ray and Jessica and Chip all showed up....

But the surprise was Gary also invited his friends in law enforcement..

Our friends who we didn't see often enough... ADA Keith Wallace and his wife, Detective Carlotta Wallace, Lt. Sissy Van Buren and her husband, Eddie C. , Detective Jimmy Barlow and his wife, Detective Angie Belton-Barlow, Detectives Tyriq and Sirena Pile, Detective Duke Baylor and his wife, our friend, Dr. Hazel Baylor, who we had seen earlier..and Detective Tony Hopkins and his wife, our favorite Fed...Agent Sharon Hopkins...

Rounding out the guest list was the couple who was responsible for bringing most of us together in some shape or form, 

Super Realtor,Sepia Morris

and her husband, Kevin Morris, Private Investigator supreme..

It was rare that all of us were together like this in one place..We were always so busy...but nice that we started having these get togethers outside of clubs and restaurants... Just us...Neighbors!~

FOR SLC