Capital Gazette Shooting Video To Be Shown In Murder Trial

By Elliott Davis and Hannah Gaskill, Capital News Service

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken ruled prosecutors can show crime-scene video from the June 2018 Capital Gazette mass shooting at the trial of Jarrod Ramos. Ramos is accused of killing five employees of the Annapolis newspaper because he held a grudge against the paper for publishing a story on a harassment case he was convicted in years earlier.

On June 28, 2018, an assailant shot through the office doors of the Capital Gazette newsroom and fatally wounded journalists Robert Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara and advertising assistant Rebecca Smith. Six other Capital employees present during the attack survived.

Ripken ruled on a motion centering on two videos from the newsroom on the day of the shooting: one showing the front of the office suite where the shooter entered, and one showing the back exit, which was blocked.

After watching the video footage in her chambers after another hearing Tuesday, Ripken watched it again from the bench during a Wednesday hearing, with State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess and Public Defender Elizabeth Palan sitting by her side.

The footage in dispute does not show anyone being shot, but does detail the suspect’s entry into the newsroom and the flash of shots firing. It also shows victims of the attack trying to escape, a wounded Rebecca Smith, and police officers escorting crime reporter Phil Davis back to the scene to retrieve his cell phone before the gunman had been captured.

The shooter, Leitess said, was found hiding in the newsroom — just yards away from the survivors — minutes later. She also said the video shows the shooter’s glasses and hairstyle changing between when he entered the newsroom and when he was taken out by officers.

Palan, along with public defenders William Davis and Katy O’Donnell, is representing Ramos, who is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and six counts of assault, among other charges. He has pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible — Maryland’s version of a plea of insanity.

Palan argued that the value of the video is substantially outweighed by the “unfairly prejudicial” and emotional nature of it, and asked that only still images and a small portion of the video — less than 30 seconds combined, showing the shooter entering the office and walking by the rear exit during the incident — be used during trial.

Leitess countered that the defense is “attempting to sanitize the state’s case.” She argued the video shows the “methodical hunting” and intent of the shooter and victims fleeing for their lives, some of whom did not survive.

“It shows the real fear that the victims of this case experienced,” Leitess said.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Ripken ruled the video clips “clearly have probative value in this case,” and taken as a whole, the footage “essentially is a witness of the events that occurred.” She added the “best evidence in this case … is, in fact, the video itself.”

“To redact the video would be that which would cause confusion of the issues” and confusion for the jury, Ripken said from the bench.

Ramos declined to participate in the private bench meetings Wednesday morning.

The Capital Gazette published a 2011 column about Ramos' guilty plea in a case of harassment of a former classmate, prompting him to file a defamation suit against the paper. It was later dismissed.

The column was ruled admissible as evidence in the trial. Ripken also ruled the defendant’s guilty plea in the harassment case is admissible.

Ripken also agreed to review a specific file of Annapolis Police Department internal affairs records the defense wants to use as evidence.

Jury selection for the case is scheduled to occur over the course of three consecutive days starting Oct. 30. The trial is scheduled for early November.

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