VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – A forensic expert showed his analysis and police revealed an automatic weapon Thursday in the trial of Bryan Cage, 50.
Cage faces attempted capital murder, 100 counts of possession of child pornography and 41 counts of shooting in an occupied dwelling during a June 2017 confrontation with police at his home on Ohio Avenue.
Michael Maloney, a recognized expert in crime scene reconstruction hired to testify by the Commonwealth, used exhibits to illustrate his conclusion that Detective Ryan Sweeney was shot by Cage as he entered his apartment.
Maloney and Chris Luckie, a firearms examiner for the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, both testified that the bullets that pierced Sweeney’s police vest and broke two bones in his shoulder were consistent with an M-6 automatic rifle recovered from Cage’s residence.
Defense attorney Diane Toscano said in her opening statement earlier this week that Cage did not shoot Sweeney, and that he was shot by friendly fire from other members of his team. On her cross-examination, Maloney said some bullet evidence was not recovered from the crime scene and that city police should have done a more thorough investigation.
A police sergeant removed the M-6 from a sealed evidence bag and displayed it for the jury. The weapon has a magazine that holds 25 bullets, meaning it would need to be re-loaded only once to fire 41 times.
Cage’s stepfather David Retterer and mother live in the main residence at 1620 Ohio, and Cage lives in the apartment above the garage in the rear of the property. Two individual teams served simultaneous warrants on both residences just after sunrise on June 13, 2017.
Retterer testified by video Thursday, saying when police came to his door they did not announce themselves, and when he opened his door there were “nine SWAT officers with AR-15s pointed right at me.”
Officers who came to Retterer’s door testified that they were armed with 9 MM handguns, not automatic rifles. SWAT did arrive to Cage’s residence, but only about an hour after the initial door knock according to testimony from a SWAT supervisor. Police officers today and earlier this week all testified that both teams announced “Virginia Beach Police, search warrant” multiple times at each residence.
Cage had been under investigation for possession of child pornography for nearly a year prior to police coming with a warrant. Cage and police exchanged dozens of shots, police then retreated and called in SWAT. A four-hour standoff followed before Cage eventually surrendered without further incident.
Retterer testified that he didn’t like Cage because of the way he treated his mother. He said Cage did not drive, never opened his blinds and rarely left the apartment. Retterer said he and Cage’s mother would occasionally drive him to the grocery store, commissary and gun store.
It’s unclear whether Cage will testify when the defense is expected to get the case Friday.