NORFOLK, Va. — After a delay in jury selection on Tuesday, the trial for a man charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Norfolk State University Student Jahari George in September 2023 began Wednesday.
The Commonwealth called five witnesses. The first three were the friends who were in the car with George when he was shot.
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They testified about what they had been doing the day of the shooting and their experience in the car when it was shot.
As News 3 has reported, and as the Commonwealth recounted in court Wednesday, the car George and his friends were in was shot multiple times. The motive for the shooting was not explained.
The first of the three friends to testify was Jahari’s then-girlfriend.
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She was very emotional. In fact, the judge even had to call a five-minute recess to give her a break so she could compose herself.
The fourth witness was an NSU police officer. She testified about her response to the shooting.
During that testimony, the Commonwealth showed police body camera video of officers checking George for a pulse while he was still in the car.
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3 charged with murder in death of NSU student Jahari George, police say
The final witness for the day was a Norfolk Police Department homicide detective.
His testimony focused on how evidence was collected and processed, as well as how the suspected car from which the shots were fired—police say—was tracked down and processed.
The Commonwealth is arguing the defendant, Camari Warren, did not pull the trigger but did have a hand in making the shooting happen and is therefore just as guilty as the shooter and should be charged accordingly.
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He is facing numerous charges, including first-degree murder.
His attorney, however, argues another person is responsible for what Warren is accused of doing, and that person should be on trial instead.
The attorney points to phone records between that person and the suspected shooter and to video that shows that person with the suspected shooter and in the suspect’s car at multiple locations.
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The homicide detective also testified that there is no video that shows Warren in the car.
As of Wednesday, the person seen on the video in the car with the suspected shooter was expected to testify the next day.
After court on Wednesday, Warren’s family declined to speak.
George’s mother tells News 3 this process has been tough, but her family is trying to be patient and let the justice system work.
Court is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.
