NAKEYA BELL'S TESTIMONY:
Nakeya Bell is Maggie's daughter and she tells the court that she remembers March 14, 2012 because it was "the day before my father's funeral." She reports arriving home around 8 p.m. as well, that she lives at 378 Roxborough Rd. with her mother (Maggie) and daughter, and that because of the death in her family she remained outside in the driveway with friends and family members much of the evening talking and also observing the police activity at 375 Roxborough Rd. We pick up her testimony when she is questioned by McNair's lawyer about seeing police enter the home around 8 p.m. (NOTE: see questions about this testimony and timeline below)
Q. Do you recall approximately how many police?
A. I'm not sure. I saw three in the doorway. One was on the steps. One was right in the front of the door by the steps and one was entering, going this way, but it was more than three cops inside of the premises.
Q. Did you observe anything on the second floor?
A. No. Just the officers on the steps.
Q. When you say on the steps, was that on the steps located inside the residence?
A. Inside the house, yes.
Q. And those steps lead to the second floor?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you observe any flashlights?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you know how many flashlights you observed?
A. Well, all of the officers, the two -- the three that I saw standing there, yes, but it was officers upstairs because you could see the lights, the flashing of the lights on the upstairs part of the house.
Q. Okay. You could see that through the windows?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And that's a yes?
A. Yes.
---LATER SHE IS ASKED:
Q. Could you see clearly through the front door 375 Roxborough?
A. Yes, that's how I'm aware that their stairs is right when you open the door.
Q. Had you ever been inside that residence before?
A. Never.
13WHAM News notes that questioning of Nakeya Bell also reveals some inconsistencies as to how long officers were in the home and around the home. She admits not paying close attention to an exact timeline of events and questioning from lawyers does not appear to pin down a definitive timeline.
Judge Randall credits Nakeya Bell's testimony by stating that, "Ms. Bell estimates that the officers were in the house approximately one half hour prior to exiting the house, closing the front doors, and establishing a perimeter around the residence. Ms. Bell did see the officers (re-enter) the residence a couple of hours later."
The Locust Club Police Union raises additional questions about Nakeya Bell seeing multiple police cars on the scene around 8 p.m. Neither Maggie nor Nakeya Bell appear to testify that they heard an audible burglar alarm that Officer Hartley and the 9-1-1 center documented. Additional questions from the union focus on what they believe was inadequate cross-examination.
