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Rayquan Borum Declines To Testify As Murder Trial Nears End

John D. Simmons
/
Charlotte Observer

Updated: Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Closing arguments in the trial of Rayquan Borum will begin Wednesday. The defense rested its case Tuesday morning after Borum told Judge Gregory Hayes that he did not wish to testify or present any evidence.

The state rested its case Monday.

Judge Hayes dismissed the jury saying the rest of the day would be used to discuss sentencing guidelines. Hayes said he wanted the jury fresh for Wednesday morning. The state will go first in closing arguments and the defense will have the final word before jury deliberations begin.

Borum has been accused of shooting a 26-year-old protester named Justin Carr in 2016. The shooting happened during protests in uptown following the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. Prosecutors have charged that Borum initially aimed a gun at police, but upon firing, struck Carr instead, who was nearby.

Updated: Monday at 11 p.m.

Jurors could begin deliberating Tuesday in the trial of Rayquan Borum. The state rested its case Monday. Defense attorneys Mark Simmons and Darlene Harris asked for the remainder of the afternoon to discuss Borum's options with him before they announce if they will call any witnesses.

The state argued that Borum is guilty of first degree murder. Prosecutors say Borum aimed a gun at police during the second night of protests that erupted in Charlotte as a result of the police shooting death of Keith Scott in 2016. The state said the bullet intended for the police hit Carr instead. Prosecutors used witness testimony, Borum's jailhouse calls and video footage from that night as evidence.

Mecklenburg county medical examiner Dr. James Lozano was the last witness to take the stand. He performed the autopsy on Carr. Lozano stated he had no doubt that it was gunshot to the head that killed Carr in September 2016.

"So I've seen hundreds of gunshot wounds and this is entirely consistent with a gunshot wound," Lozano said.

Members of the jury were asked to view photos from Lozano's findings. That included images of the entrance and exit wounds on Carr's head as well as an x-ray of his head, chest, and neck. Throughout the trial the defense raised questions as to why a small fragment left in Carr's skull was not retrieved. Lozano said the piece was so small it would not have provided any forensic value.

Court is back in session at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Copyright 2019 WFAE

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.