CHESAPEAKE
A jury will begin deliberations today in the trial for Shawn Sir Charles Ward and Julian "Ramel" Barksdale, two men charged in the killing of a 1-year-old girl during a South Norfolk home invasion.
They face possible life sentences if convicted in the killing of Ny-Asia Tillmon, the infant shot in the head Nov. 10 when masked gunmen forced their way into the front door of a home in the 3700 block of Bainbridge Blvd. Two other people in the home, the infant's grandmother, Mary Arnold, and uncle, Bernard Person, were wounded.
The jury heard closing arguments Tuesday in Chesapeake Circuit Court during the seventh day of the trial.
Defense attorneys David Hargett and Anthony Draper worked to discredit the prosecution's key witness, Erica Arnold. She identified Ward and Barksdale as the men who forced their way into her mother's home while firing guns.
Hargett argued that Arnold's testimony has changed several times.
"All they have is Erica Arnold, and quite frankly, we know that she lied," said Hargett, Ward's attorney. "We know that she lied!"
Draper, Barksdale's attorney, said the prosecution's entire case has holes and questioned why investigators did not explore other leads.
"You can't let the age of the victim cloud the fact that things don't fit together here," Draper said.
Ward, 22 and Barksdale, 20, are charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, wearing a mask, burglary while armed, two counts of malicious wounding, and gun-related felonies.
Prosecutors D.J. Hansen and Karen Brown contend the gunmen forced their way into the first-floor apartment "full of people" around 4 p.m. that Saturday and scattered when Person returned fire.
The commonwealth doesn't have to provide a motive for the crime. "We may not know why because of the evidence," Hansen told the jury. "We may never know why."
He contended Arnold knew the defendants and identified them as the culprits when masks fell from their faces during the chaos. He asked the jury not to buy into defense attorneys attacks on her credibility.
"Their goal is to dirty her up," Hansen said. "They want to make her out to be some evil person who is making this up."
John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com
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