WTHR |Opening arguments begin in Reese trial

Opening arguments begin in Reese trial

Kevin Rader/Eyewitness News

Porter County - The Metro Police officer shot in the head last year took the stand Tuesday against the man accused of firing the gun.

A jury of seven men and five women were selected Monday to hear the case against Brian Reese. Police were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Brian Reese in July 2008 when he fled. He is accused of firing a shot that hit Officer Jason Fishburn in the head, causing him permanent brain damage. Fishburn is back on desk duty after a long recovery, but still has limited mobility.

Officer Fishburn took the stand to testify about the attempted shooting. He was only asked what he remembered about the shooting, and his response was, "Nothing." When Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi pressed further on whether Fishburn remembered the shots being fired, he replied, "Nothing at all."

Fishburn's testimony was extremely brief. His wife Tonya also took the stand Tuesday.

During opening statements, Brizzi sounded all the alarms, saying that Reese "had run before but this time Jason Fishburn was in position to get him. That's when the defendant switched from runner to shooter. That is when he intended to kill Jason Fishburn. He shot him in the head and in the chest - both in the kill zone."

"He went from running, as the defense admitted in their opening statement, he fled from police with a gun and he didn't have a license for it," Brizzi said. "He ran illegally - with a gun illegally - and when he was trapped between two houses, when he was alone with Jason Fishburn, that is when he went from runner to shooter."

Defense attorney David Shircliff admits his client is guilty of running from police, but went on to say, "When the evidence is in, we are not asking you to like Brian Reese. We are not saying he was not responsible for Jason Fishburn's injury. But the state can't show he had speicifc intent to kill Jason Fishburn."

The proceedings ran into another problem early Tuesday when two jurors who turned up early for the day saw Brian Reese being escorted into the building in shackles and handcuffs. Shircliff asked that the two jurors be dismissed, but after questioning them about whether seeing Reese in shackles would have any bearing on their feelings about the case, the judge decided they could stay.

"I'm just so proud of Jason. With everything he's been through, to come up here and testify in a professional manner was just very courageous," said IMPD Chief Mike Spears.

That wasn't the only issue surrounding Jason Fishburn Tuesday. The prosecution had requested that Fishburn be allowed to stay in the courtroom and listen to the testimony for the duration of the trial. The defense took issue with that.

"If you got Jason in the courtroom with noticeable injuries and he's clearly got some conditions he can't control, I think in this serious of a case it would be hard as a juror to sit there in this case and not be prejudiced by the fact that the victim is sitting right next to you," said Shircliff.

"Too bad. Jason is the victim of an attempted murder. They openly admitted in the opening statement that he is responsible for Jason's injuries. Jason and his wife have every right to be in that courtroom," said Brizzi.

The judge agreed so the Fishburns will be allowed to sit in on the remainder of the trial.

"It would be hard to sit as a juror right next to Jason Fishburn with his visible injuries. I just don't see how that doesn't prejudice the jury," Shircliff said.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys agree that Brian Reese pulled the trigger and shot Officer Fishburn, but for an attempted murder conviction, the state must prove intent.

The defense has said Brian Reese did not intend to shoot anyone.

"If you pull the trigger of a gun and someone dies as a result that's murder, whether you intended that to happen or not. With attempted murder you have to show intent to kill. That crime in Indiana is probably the most difficult crime to prove generally," said Brizzi. "Now it's our job to prove through inference through all of his actions - both before and post - that show he attempted to kill Jason Fishburn."

"All I can do is assume the jurors answered honestly and I think they did. The ones that are on the jury, I believe, said they could be fair and consider that the only intent for shooting a gun is not always to kill someone. It's possible you can shot a gun without having that intent," said David Shircliff, Reese's attorney.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is expected to attend some time this week to show his support for Officer Fishburn.

Case background

The arrest warrant that police were attempting to serve was in connection with the murder of a 69-year-old Indianapolis man. Police believe that Brian Reese, his father Paul and his mother Barbara, along with Reese's then-girlfriend Lona Bishop, all participated in the burglary and murder of Clifford Haddix, who was shot to death during a home invasion and burglary on Newton Ave July 6th, 2008. Bishop, as well as Brian, Paul and Barbara Reese, face charges in connection with that crime.

Reese was also charged in the murders of Crystal Jenkins and Demetrius Allen on July 8th, 2008. Police believe Brian Reese went to buy crack cocaine from Jenkins and Allen. While at their North Hendricks Place home, he shot them, according to police. Officers found the home ransacked. During a statement, Brian Reese's father Paul Reese allegedly told police that his son Brian told him of the shooting.

Police say the .38 that killed one of the suspected crack dealers was the same gun used to shoot Officer Jason Fishburn.