Warren murder trial paused so Macomb prosecutors can find witnesses

The start of a retrial of a man in the Warren murder case was postponed Wednesday after a key witness could not be located to testify.

Macomb County District Judge Joseph Toia adjourned the trial of Reinaldo Jamison for two days. His second-degree murder conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals nearly two years ago. Jamison shot and killed 32-year-old Andre Fort of Detroit in August 2018 in Jamison's Warren home.

The trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday morning after the jury was seated Tuesday, but Macomb prosecutors were unable to locate or subpoena what the defense attorney called a “key” witness to testify.

Judge Toia met with Macomb Assistant District Attorney Carmen DeFranco and defense attorney Wade Fink at least twice in his office for extended periods of time before granting DeFranco an adjournment to get witness Crystal Banks to testify. Toia told DeFranco that the trial would begin Friday, “with or without your witness.”

DeFranco said the witness had indicated in the past that she had “safety concerns” about her testimony, while Fink countered that she had “concerns about veracity.”

André Fort

Reinaldo, now 30, was serving a 25- to 50-year prison sentence in 2019 after being convicted by a jury, but that sentence was overturned by a three-judge appeals panel in September 2022. The panel unanimously agreed that Jamison's defense attorney had failed to honor his client's wishes for a self-defense strategy. Attorney David Cripps claimed at trial that Fort was disarmed and shot by another man on Aug. 28, 2018, after breaking into the mobile home on Joseph Street in the Glenwood Mobile Village near Dequindre and Nine Mile roads.

Fort, Jamison's cousin, was shot six times, including as he tried to flee the house, where he suffered two gunshot wounds to the head.

Jamison fled but turned himself in two days later. He is currently free after posting 10% of a $50,000 bail set by Toia in June 2023, court records show.

Warren murder trial paused so Macomb prosecutors can find witnesses – Macomb Daily

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Warren murder trial paused so Macomb prosecutors can find witnesses – Macomb Daily

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