Request for adjournment in murder trial rejected as police testimony continues | News, sports, jobs

Tucker Richard

MAYVILLE — Four more law enforcement officials testified in the trial of a South County resident accused of killing his stepfather nearly two years ago.

Tucker Richard, 20, was charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 6, 2023, shooting death of Scott Blake in the town of Ellicott.

On Wednesday morning, Investigator Mark Baglia of the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office returned to the stand. He was sworn in on Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Assistant Public Defender James Williams asked Baglia if Richard told him he shot Blake in self-defense, to which Baglia replied he didn't remember making that statement.

Williams asked Baglia about his background, with Baglia noting that he had undergone specialized training to understand trajectory.

Erik Bentley of the District Attorney's Office then asked Baglia to elaborate on his understanding of the trajectory, to which the prosecution objected.

At that point, District Judge David Foley ordered the jury out of the courtroom.

The public defender's office argued that Baglia's background in trajectory training was not disclosed to them and said Beglia's resume was never provided to them.

Public defender Nathan Barone requested an adjournment of the trial so they could hire their own trajectory expert.

After a brief recess, Foley decided that since Williams had initiated the discussion of Baglia's expertise, he would allow Baglia's testimony and denied the defense's request for an adjournment.

Barone continued to voice his opposition and Foley said the defense's objections were noted.

Looking at the scene after the jury returned and testimony resumed, Baglia said he believed the fatal shot was fired inside the home at 2256 Willard St. Ext.

After Baglia, Chautauqua County Sheriff's Deputy Garrett Neel took the stand.

Neel described the scene when he arrived around 1:30 a.m. and narrated how he was part of the team that collected evidence. He also helped dispose of the deceased's body.

After Neel, Det. Courtney Schauman of the Jamestown Police Department took the stand.

She collaborated with Neel on photography and created a sketch of the property.

Like Neel, Schauman is a member of the forensic investigation team.

As part of her investigation, she entered the home through the back of the building as there were reports of a deceased person in the front.

Schauman said her sketch was not to scale but was a fair representation of the scene.

The sketch was submitted as evidence over the defense's objection.

After Schauman, Det. Craig Damon of the Jamestown Police Department took the stand.

He is also a member of the forensic investigation team and serves as co-manager.

Like other law enforcement personnel, he discussed the process of documenting evidence on site.

Among the items he noted were three pieces of a shotgun located on the upper floor of the home.

On Monday, the defense claimed in opening arguments that Blake hit Richard with the gun, causing it to break.

Other items Damon noticed included other long guns, shotgun shells, .22-caliber bullets and a folding knife.

The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday with Damon being questioned by the defense.

In a separate matter, Foley ruled that a transcript accompanying a video that was planned to be used in the future could not be used.

The prosecution stated that they felt the transcript was necessary because of the poor audio quality. The defense objected, saying they were unsure whether the words in the transcript were completely accurate.

Prosecutors did not say at the end of the day whether they wanted to continue using the video or not. District Attorney Jason Schmidt sought the sentence because he said it would help him with his planning.