NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A bomb threat stopped an inmate from testifying against a man accused of killing an ODU student.
A panel of jurors will determine if Rashad Dooley is guilty or not. He is accused of killing 20-year-old Chris Cummings. Cumming is the nephew of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings.
The Commonwealth was expected to wrap up witness testimony Friday, but a courthouse lockdown halted testimonies.
Friday morning, the council and the judge talked about a few topics outside the presence of the jury. The Commonwealth wanted to introduce an FBI analysis of cell phone data. It was emailed to Dooley’s attorney, Eric Korslund, around 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, Cynthia Collard, said she immediately emailed the findings as soon as she got them. The judge deemed it “fundamentally unfair” to introduce the evidence.
Korslund also wanted to exclude inmate testimony the Commonwealth planned to have. The judge allowed the witnesses to testify.
Around 10 a.m., the jury was brought out to hear one of the inmate’s testimony. The federal inmate talked about a conversation he had with Dooley in the Newport News City Kail in 2015.
He said Dooley told him the incident happened “across the water.” Dooley told him a couple of them “were supposed to do this lick.” According to the inmate, Dooley said it “got crazy.”
The inmate said the defendant explained a “dude named Kwa shot him.” Dooley said he was only the driver of the car. The federal inmate said he told Dooley he could be in trouble without ever pulling the trigger. He recalls the defendant telling him, “how could they do that?”
The federal inmate testified Dooley said he, Javon Doyle and Kwaume Edwards were involved. He said another guy was involved but didn’t name him.
He said he wanted to testify to bring closure to the victim’s family. Korslund questioned him about his statement. Korslund asserted the inmate only spoke after a plea agreement he signed years later.
The inmate told Collard he was also testifying as “a follow-up on a statement” he made to police, but Korslund suggests he testified to get a rule 35-sentence reduction. The rule can reduce your sentence for assistance in a case.
Korslund also pointed out the inmate’s previous convictions. He had charges related to selling drugs. In 2014, the inmate plead guilty to the use of a firearm resulting in the death of a Newport News man in 2010.
In the middle of cross-examination, the bailiffs whispered something to the judge. The judge quickly stood up and headed out of the courtroom. Then, the witness was whisked out of the courtroom. Another bailiff led the jury into a room.
The gallery sat on the courtroom benches for around two hours. Later, the gallery was escorted out to a staircase that eventually led outside.
Norfolk Police said there was a bomb threat at the courthouse. Police worked alongside the Norfolk Fire and Rescue. The scene was cleared around 1:30 Friday afternoon.
Circuit Court resumed after the lockdown, but Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court and General District Court closed for the day.
The trial is set to resume on Monday.