Demario Jackson acquitted

.

11/1/12– After a 2 week trial, followed by 2 days of deliberation, a Riverside jury has acquitted Demario Jackson of murder in the shooting death of Beaumont resident Andy Albarran,46. Jackson’s attorney, Susanne Cho, had argued that her client acted in self defense.  Prior to the incident, the Banning City Council had given Demario Jackson a $ 550,000 loan which was never repaid.

.

NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING

In July of 2011, during the aftermath of a rap concert held at Beaumont’s “Celebrity Lounge”, an altercation is said to have evolved in the parking lot between Albarran and Jackson. The altercation escalated into Jackson firing 2 shots, which was witnessed by Beaumont Police officer Brent Conan, who was close by. Conan fired 5 shots in response.

.

CONFLICTING TESTIMONY

The case against Jackson was impacted by conflicting testimony. Officer Conan testified that Jackson and Albarran were facing each other and that he saw Jackson shooting Albarran in the gutt – “point blank”. Conan then said he fired 5 shots in response, striking Jackson in the upper leg and upper body.

Conan’s testimony stood in sharp contrast to the medical examiner’s findings. Forensic Pathologist Mark Fajardo testified that, without any doubt, Albarran was shot in the back. This indicated that Jackson’s bullets were not the ones that hit Albarran, but instead those bullets had to have come from the Police Officer’s gun.

Officer Conan testified that the prosecution never informed him of the medical examiner’s findings prior to his testimony at trial.

.

SELF DEFENSE

Demario Jackson never testified at his trial, however, the defense was able to point to self defense when they produced an image of a screwdriver that was found in Andy Albarran’s clothing. The size of the screwdriver seemed to correspond with a small wound on Demario Jackson’s back which was noted by the hospital nurse, along with damage to his shirt in about the same area.

.

EXPENSIVE WORLD CLASS DEFENSE TEAM

Even though the Court found Demario Jackson to be “indigent” (poor) right before trial, Jackson was not only able to afford his private attorney, Susanne Cho, but also retained very expensive, world renowned expert defense witnesses reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson defense team.

For example, the defense hired forensic animation expert James Tavernetti of Scottsdale, AZ, to create a 3-D animation video of the incident. Other expert defense witnesses included highly credentialed former LAPD officer John H. Pride. Pride trained not just LAPD, but also entire police forces of foreign countries.

Pride testified that in his professional opinion the bullets that killed Andy Albarran came from officer Conan’s “Sig Sauer” .45 gun.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousand of dollars were spent on Demario Jackson’s defense. How can a truly “poor” defendant afford such a costly, no-expense-spared defense?  Was this paid for by Demario Jackson’s family who has ties to the Morongo Tribe ? Or was it the Banning taxpayer who paid for it all, after a corrupt Banning City Council showered the then 23-year old Jackson with over half a million dollars in cash ? (see story).

.

CONCLUSION

After spending over 1 year in jail, Demario Jackson is once again a free man. The jury has spoken : Demario Jackson is not guilty of murdering Andy Albarran.

.

If you would like to comment or discuss this – or any other – article,  please visit us on FACEBOOK