The murder trial against Coine Larose, 28, on July 28 ended with closing statements after six days before Judge Catherine Chen. Larose is accused of murdering Keith Nicholson, 38, on Dec. 31, 2023, on the 4300 block of Belair Road.
Police documents state that a physical altercation between Larose and Nicholson escalated when Nicholson fled the scene and Larose allegedly followed him via car and shot him.
The prosecutor reminded the jury that the evidence would come to them in pieces, and now it was time to put them together. She emphasized a witness that identified a person said to be Larose in video footage.
She showed the jury the video, and stated that after the altercation between Larose and Nicholson, Nicholson runs away and a white Lexus is seen following him, which she claims was driven by Larose. Fragments at Belair Road from a gun also closely matched the gun Larose allegedly had in his possession, and casings from a second unknown firearm were also recovered.
The state continued that detectives had Larose’s phone number, and his phone was near the crime scene around the same time as the incident. The state then explained the conspiracy charge, the difference between murder charges, and the handgun charges to the jury.
Defense attorney Michael Joseph Tomko said it was an honor to represent Larose. He also asks the jury to recognize the holes in the state’s argument and that they must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tomko said that the gun Larose had in March of 2023 had been used before Dec. 31 in a shooting in the same district. He said guns are easy to obtain on the street and can be passed around. Tomko stated there was no evidence that Larose shot a gun on Dec. 31, and that detectives were given different information from different sources.
Tomko put emphasis on a ring box that Nicholson possessed, and that the case is about disputes over that ring box, and no detectives ever processed it as evidence.
Nicholson and two others retrieved the ring box and began to run with it, so the theory is that it was stolen. Then, they were followed by a white Lexus and Nicholson was allegedly shot by the driver.
Tomko concluded that the prosecution put the gun in Larose’s hands and put him in the Lexus that followed Nicholson, but that there was no DNA evidence that matched Larose’s in the Lexus.
The state responded by mentioning witness testimonies that described the altercation that ensued, but did not mention a ring box. The state said the jury would have to ignore evidence to find Larose not guilty because he chased down and killed a man, while also putting other people’s lives in danger.
Jury deliberations have started.
