THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100342
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Shamont Burrell, the Norfolk State University freshman charged with the 1994 on-campus slaying of his former roommate, was not the killer but a patsy for New Yorkers who planned the murder, his lawyer said Thursday.
``Everybody was a lookout but Shamont,'' Michael Morchower, Burrell's Richmond-based attorney, told jurors during closing arguments. ``They said, `Let's pass the blame, pass it on to this naive kid from Richmond.' ''
On the third day of trial, Morchower attacked the state's case. He pointed out inconsistencies in the statements of Burrell's co-defendants Christopher Skinner and Derrick Washington, both of whom made plea agreements based on their testifying against Burrell. Two other former students from New York - James Powers and Anthony Britton - were also indicted but are fugitives.
Both Skinner and Washington, members of a group of New York students who called themselves the 718 Crew, testified that Burrell wanted revenge because he had lost a fight with former roommate Gerard Edwards the previous night.
``Thomas Jefferson said, `Show me a convicted felon and I'll show you someone who has a propensity to lie,' '' Morchower said. ``Sometimes the big lie is more plausible than the truth.''
On Jan. 18, 1994, Edwards was shot to death as he slept in his room at Samuel F. Scott Hall. His roommate, Ronald Richardson, was wounded. Prosecutors said Edwards anticipated trouble because of the fight between the New Yorkers and students from Washington with whom he hung out. That night, he barricaded the door and kept a baseball bat by his bed.
But at 2:45 a.m., someone entered the room and shot Edwards up to 10 times. There was no sign of forced entry, and prosecutors said the only other way in was by punching a combination into a keypad on the door. Only the victims and Burrell knew that combination, prosecutor Phillip Evans said.
In addition, a student walking to the shower on the third floor said he heard Burrell run up the stairs from the second floor, where the murder occurred, then watched him hurry through the hall immediately after hearing gunfire.
Yet Morchower pointed the finger at co-defendant Washington, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and malicious wounding on Wednesday in exchange for a 25-year cap on his sentence. Washington testified that he watched as Burrell entered the room, then heard gunfire.
Skinner said Washington carried the gun to the room; Washington said he hid it afterward. Washington's description more closely fit that of the man seen on the third floor, Morchower said. Washington also admitted to hiding from a guard as he ran from the killing.
On Thursday, Burrell took the stand and contradicted the testimony of several prosecution witnesses. He said he never fought with Edwards the night of the skating party at the Newport News roller rink. New Yorker James Powers fought with Edwards, he said.
The next night, when several 718 Crew members ate pizza and played video games in Powers' room on the second floor, there was no mention of the fight, Burrell said. He and Skinner, his roommate, left and went to their own room on the first floor about 45 minutes before the shooting, he said. The two were downstairs when the murder occurred, he said.
Burrell's story was supported in court by a fellow 718 Crew member, whose family asked that he not be identified for fear of reprisals. The witness, who was never indicted but left NSU within a week of the killing, said that he too was in Powers' room. But he never heard any discussion of seeking revenge and never saw a gun, he said.
Seven character witnesses, including family and friends, said Burrell was honest, nonviolent and emotionally incapable of committing such a murder. His mother said she and his father advised him to leave NSU after the killing.
The jury will begin deliberations today at 9 a.m. Burrell - charged with first-degree murder, malicious wounding, conspiracy and two firearms counts - could be sentenced to life if convicted. . ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Today, a jury receives the case against Shamont Burrell, accused of
killing his ex-roommate at Norfolk State.
KEYWORDS: MURDER ASSAULT SHOOTING ARREST
TRIAL by CNB