Federal judge testifies about being shot on his front porch
A federal judge who was shot last year on his front porch at his Detroit home testified Tuesday at the trial of the accused shooter.
U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg said he couldn’t positively identify the suspect, 23-year-old Kevin Andre Smith Jr., but described what the shooter looked like, what he wore and said his eyes were distinctive and looked like Smith’s, reports the Detroit News.
Berg said he heard footsteps that night in March 2015 after taking out his garbage can. He turned around and saw two men.
“What is it?” he asked. One told him they didn’t want to hurt him, but wanted the judge to let the pair into his home, reports the Detroit Free Press.
Berg’s wife and teenage son were inside, and he refused. So one man shot him in the kneecap with a wide barrel semi-automatic handgun. “Help! I’ve been shot! Call 911!” the judge shouted. Hearing the commotion, his wife rushed to Berg’s side and yelled at the men as they fled to a nearby vehicle.
A neighbor who is an emergency room physician responded, along with police, who rushed the judge to the hospital before an ambulance arrived, the newspaper reports. He was checked in under a false name, apparently because no one was sure whether Berg had intentionally been targeted in the crime. (It is now thought to have been random, rather than directed at the judge.)
Despite numerous surgeries, Berg said his knee is still painful and he can’t run on it. He returned to the bench several months after the shooting.
“The good thing is I can walk,” Berg said. “I can’t do all the things I used to do.”
Smith is being tried on charges including armed robbery and assault with intent to commit murder in the Wayne County Circuit Court case.
Prosecutor Robert Moran said in his opening statement that Smith and others had been involved in a home-invasion ring that committed a series of robberies within months of the attack on Berg. Two co-conspirators are expected to testify against Smith, the Detroit News reports.
Defense attorney John McWilliams said after court that the defense will center on Berg’s inability to identify Smith as the shooter. “Only the co-conspirators will, because of the break they got,” McWilliams said.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Man is indicted in shooting of federal judge outside his Detroit home”
