In March 2014, Lee Allmond said, he had just picked up some groceries at the Pulaski Highway Aldi when an old friend pulled to the side of the road and offered his car.
Gregg Thomas told Allmond to take his blue Lincoln with Maryland farm tags, and just return it to his mother's house when he was done, Allmond said. But shortly after getting behind the wheel, officers stopped Allmond. Witnesses had told police a blue Lincoln with farm tags was just used by a masked man who shot a police officer earlier that night.
"The next thing I know I was handcuffed," Allmond testified Wednesday in the third trial against Thomas, 36, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of city police officer Sgt. Keith Mcneill. Thomas' first trial in September ended in a mistrial because evidence had not been turned over to Thomas' defense attorney. In February, jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
During opening statements Monday, Assistant State's attorney Traci Robinson laid out the state's case in which she said witnesses, including Allmond, could tie a masked gunman to the scene and the blue Lincoln.
"He has no idea what is going on and his nightmare has just begun," Robinson said, according to a recording of the proceeding.
Thomas' attorney Jason Ott argued the state lacked enough evidence to prove Thomas was the shooter.
"It sounds like she has eyewitnesses. It sounds like there is overwhelming evidence but it's not. This is a circumstantial case," Ott said.
The blue Lincoln was spotted shortly before the shooting on CCTV, circling around Belair Road and North Avenue, near Higgs Automotive, Robinson said. Bruce Higgs, the owner of the shop, had closed for the night but waited in his car for Mcneill, who went to get cash for work done on his truck, she said.
Mcneill called Higgs to tell him he was still having trouble with his brakes and that he had seen a masked man at the shop. Mcneill stopped and identified himself as a police officer, and began to question Thomas, Robinson said. During the exchange, Thomas opened fire, she said.
A witness driving by called 911 and followed Thomas to a blue Lincoln, she said. The witness got a description of the Maryland farm tags. Meanwhile, Higgs drove in the direction that witnesses said the gunman took off. He saw Thomas, who was no longer masked and who tried to speed away, Robinson said. Higgs followed but eventually lost him.
Ott argued the witnesses weren't solid, and that Higgs' testimony wasn't credible and he couldn't positively identify Thomas. "That may be the guy, I'm not sure," Ott said, who argued Higgs was the state's only witness to put Thomas at the shooting.
Robinson said Allmond is able to tie Thomas to the car.
At Madison Street and Linwood Avenue, Allmond said Thomas drove up honking his horn, and after a brief conversation, offered his car to Allmond.
Allmond then got behind the wheel, and dropped Thomas at his girlfriend's house.
He attempted to go to a bar, where he's stopped by police. "Next thing you know… chaos," Allmond said on the stand.
He was pulled out of the car, frisked and cuffed, he recalled. Allmond was taken to police headquarters in the back of a police transport van and questioned by homicide detectives.
"When I got upstairs that's when I realized something happened to somebody," he said.
During cross-examination, Ott asked Allmond whether Thomas was in a hurry.
"He wasn't telling you to hurry up and speed?" Ott asked.
Initially, Allmond said no, but later testified that Thomas told him to hurry up and drive. But Ott asked whether this was in response to Allmond offering to drive before dropping Thomas off.
He also asked whether Allmond ever told police before about Thomas trying to hurry him up, but Allmond said no.
The testimony is expected to continue on Thursday.
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