Bufordsecurity Woman in leather jacket and embroidered black shirt “Urban Animals” insignia rushed out of the Harris County courtroom on Friday and, at the judge’s request, turned the tops inside out.
This outfit pays tribute to a famous Houston roller skating group and one of its members, 60-year-old Michael Haney. Homeless man shot dead in June 2019 When encountering a guard outside the Washateria in the Hobby Airport area.
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Defense attorneys portrayed Haney’s accused assailant, Lance Campbell, 30, as a man who was up to no good being an armed security guard.
Campbell is on trial in the 174th District Court for murder charges related to Haney’s death.
Haney’s friends in the 1980s punk rock scene knew him as “Spike” but didn’t realize it. Years of drug addiction left him homelessWhen he died, he had no living relatives.
The night started when Campbell found Haney at a strip mall after telling her to go away. According to one of his lawyers, Sheryl Chappell, the previous ordeal had effectively left Campbell terrified. When he confronted Haney for the second time, Haney’s shopping cart overturned and Campbell urged him to leave again, causing the contents, including hygiene products, clothing, and wooden stakes, to spill to the ground.
Haney took a step toward Campbell and security fired, she said. He called 911 at about 9:20 p.m. I could not do it. Paramedics testified that Campbell had revealed to him that Haney had “aggressively approached him.”
Police investigators eventually concluded that Haney was not aggressive and arrested Campbell on suspicion of murdering the man.
“I shot him”
Officer Mitchell Safoss initially believed a security guard had been shot when he arrived at Block 7800 in Belfort. He found paramedics crouching over Haney and searched for witnesses.
Campbell, according to Saphos’ body-worn camera footage of his arrival, stood wearing a dark guard’s uniform and purple evidence gloves on his hands. was hoisted in the air.
“He came towards me – I shot him,” Campbell said.
Campbell mentioned meeting Haney the night before when he asked her to leave the house. During that incident, Houston police officers were called to a strip mall and found Haney asleep.
He woke him up and told Haney to leave—he said he would.
Haney returned at one point.
Campbell, who is 5-foot-2, “was scared the night before,” Chappell said.
Photographs of Haney’s body on the sidewalk show partially eaten fruit and a bottle of water within arm’s reach of where he fell. The contents of the shopping cart were also nearby. Police found no weapons.
“Filling the Court”
The trial was paused frequently on Friday as defense attorneys questioned the existence of Urban Animal Supporters in court.
That morning, while waiting for the court to open, at least one attendee briefly spoke with a juror, while investigators from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office had lunch with supporters in the civil court cafeteria. was found, said Murray Newman, another attorney for Campbell. .
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Newman returned from lunch and expressed his annoyance. He referenced the Urban Animals Facebook page, which encouraged members to “fill the courtroom” on Thursday. The proceedings of the day were attended by at least two members of the same organization. Three more joined us on Friday. The attorney read her Facebook post to Judge Hazel B. Jones in court, noting that the writer received a call from someone in the district attorney’s office to rally its members.
“The Attorney’s Office has requested that all animals be brought into court at 1pm today,” the memo read. “The prosecutor’s office has said that all animals that show up will be allowed into the courtroom.”
Newman argued that the district attorney’s office “seeks to use evidential means to influence the court on behalf of the complaining witness.”
Assistant District Attorney Edward Appelbaum said it was unclear who contacted the Urban Animals Group, and their conversation only testified with Haney’s longtime friend Randy Croft.
A judge denied Neumann’s request for a finding of wrongdoing by the prosecution.
nicole.hensley@chron.com
