Opening statements and testimony started Monday in the trial of the Richmond man charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of a Huguenot High School graduate minutes after he received his diploma.
The way prosecutors tell it, Amari Ty-Jon Pollard left the graduation ceremony at the Altria Theater on June 6, 2023, with one intention: to grab a firearm from his vehicle and return to kill 18-year-old Shawn Jackson. Prosecutors allege that Pollard, 20, fired at Jackson six times, leading Jackson’s stepfather, Renzo Smith, to pull out a gun and attempt to fire back. Smith, 39, also died in the shooting. Pollard was initially charged in his killing, but court records show that authorities dropped the count in July.
“You will see the last 90 minutes of Shawn Jackson’s life,” City of Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin said to the jurors seated before her. “He went from tassels to tragedy.”
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McEachin said what had started as a “beautiful, sunny” commencement day ended in a “cold, sterile hospital.” Authorities there told Tameeka Jackson-Smith that her son, Jackson, and husband, Smith, had succumbed to their injuries in the shooting, she said. McEachin said Jackson-Smith is left with memories “burned indelibly in her brain” of the anguish she felt that day.
Jason Anthony, Pollard’s attorney, agreed with McEachin that June 6 initially “was a joyous day.” But Anthony argued that the ceremony took a turn when Jackson, Smith and three others approached Pollard — collectively armed with five guns. Anthony said that at one point Jackson told Pollard, “I am going to crush you,” and called those with him to move in closer. Anthony said Pollard didn’t take out his own gun but instead turned and ran away. Jackson, who was unarmed, and the four other men chased Pollard through Monroe Park, the attorney said.
“The kid who backed down is now being chased by five men with guns,” Anthony said, adding: “And you know what he hears? ‘Shoot him!’”
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It was when Jackson caught up to Pollard and grabbed him, Anthony said, that the defendant then turned around and shot at Jackson. Then gunfire erupted. Four other people aside from Jackson and Smith got shot, Anthony told the jurors. Those people were not shot by Pollard, Anthony argued.
Anthony said after the shooting, Pollard retreated to a nearby parking garage. When a police officer showed up, his attorney argued, Pollard hugged him and said: “They tried to kill me. I can’t be here. We’ve got to get away.” In the courtroom, Pollard sat shaking, often tucking his head down.
The June incident thrust the city’s violence into national news, sparking cries for officials in and out of schools to better protect students. An external investigation into the shooting since released by Richmond city officials said security at the ceremony was minimal. Metal detectors were not working properly, and five off-duty police officers worked the event, even though more than 300 graduates and 3,600 guests were in attendance. The report said Jackson had been allowed to attend the graduation ceremony without proper authorization.
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The report also said Jackson was a Homebound student — a home-school program — in part because he had not been safe at the high school. The report said Jackson-Smith told a school guidance counselor in November 2021 that the family was in hiding after an incident between Jackson and a friend. The following June, Jackson-Smith said the family was homeless from their “home being shot up” by Huguenot students.
Last year, after her son went inside Huguenot High School to take a test, Jackson-Smith wrote to the guidance counselor: “I thought when [Jackson] came there to test he would be isolated. He was in the class with people who literally tried to kill him,” according to the report. Anthony previously confirmed that Pollard was not enrolled at Huguenot High School at the time of the February incident.
The trial is set to resume Tuesday and continue through this week.
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