The case of two Trenton men accused of murdering a Hamilton resident during a home invasion will wrap up tomorrow and likely be decided by the end of the week.
TRENTON — The case of two Trenton men accused of murdering a Hamilton resident during a home invasion will wrap up tomorrow and likely be decided by the end of the week.
After more than two weeks of proceedings, attorneys will make their closing remarks to the jury about Brian and Damien Johnson, who are standing trial for the death of 38-year-old Joseph Costanzo Jr., who was killed in his South Clinton home on Dec. 1, 2008, allegedly while the Johnsons, who are not related, were robbing him for drugs.
The trial came closer to its end after Mercer County Prosecutor Al Garcia rested his case this morning and defense attorney Bruce Throckmorton called his only witness, private investigator Johnathan Johnson.
Also of no relation to the two defendants, Johnson was there to raise questions about testimony given by a previous witness, Kathiana Dorismond, who told the jury that she saw, from her apartment, Damien Johnson in the street carrying a gun.
Using pictures he took and building plans, Johnson told the jury that only a small portion of the street where Dorismond said she saw Damien would be visible from her apartment.
His testimony follows a laundry list of witnesses called by the state who said they had either seen one of the Johnsons with a gun, heard them talk about shooting at people during a robbery or talked about wanting to rob the home in question, where other witnesses said heroin had been present on several occasions.
Costanzo, a U.S. Navy veteran and college student, was found dead at his home after being shot in the chin. A medical examiner previously testified that he had died after choking on his own blood.
The Johnsons are being charged with murder, first-degree felony murder, robbery, burglary and weapons offenses. If convicted, each defendant could serve life in prison.
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