Opinion ID: 1359265
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defense Evidence at the Guilt Phase

Text: Defendant Champion, who was charged only with the burglary of the Hassan residence and with the robbery and murder of Bobby and Eric Hassan, presented an alibi defense. He testified that on the morning of the murders he and his brothers, Reginald and Louis, picked up his paycheck from Prompt Service, a temporary personnel agency that had employed him. He then went home, where he spent the afternoon. His brother Reginald corroborated his account, as did his mother. According to defendant Champion, the ring and charm that he was wearing when arrested and that Mercie Hassan identified as belonging to her murdered husband, Bobby Hassan, had been given to him eight months earlier by one Raymond Winbush, who was killed two weeks after giving him the jewelry. Champion's sister, Rita, testified that she had seen Champion wearing the ring four years before the murders, and the charm a month or two before the murders. The ring and the charm were both mass-produced items (with a combined retail value of roughly $400), and the defense argued that Mercie Hassan had mistakenly identified them as belonging to her murdered husband. Defendant Ross offered no evidence at the guilt phase.