INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Screams, panic and chaos could be heard during the 911 call placed to dispatchers after Christard Hicks was fatally shot five years ago. The caller – Hicks’ cousin Maxina Timothee – shed tears on the stand Tuesday as attorneys replayed the 911 audio during the first day of the Jamal Riggins’ murder trial.
In the call Timothee can be heard crying out, saying “Someone get an ambulance please,” and “Don’t leave me Christard.” Some of Hicks’ family members – overcome with emotion – had to step outside of the courtroom as the audio was played before the jurors who will decide Riggins’ fate.
“Timothee was with (Hicks) the last moments of his life,” Assistant State Attorney Felicia Holloman said during opening statements.
Hicks, 19, of Fort Pierce, was standing outside of a home with a group of friends when he was struck by gunfire the afternoon of April 20, 2018 in the 4400 block of 25th Avenue in Gifford. The young athlete – known as “Dat Way” by family and friends – had aspirations to play Major League Baseball and had previously played in youth tournaments, including at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach.
Up to 20 of Hicks’ family members and friends were in court wearing black, blue and white shirts that showed Hicks’ face. Some images displayed Hicks in his baseball uniform.
Jamal Riggins during his first-degree murder trial
PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS
It was an emotional first day for the trial, which was expected to last through Friday. Riggins, a former Sebastian River High School football standout, was indicted by the grand jury three months after the shooting on charges including first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder, four counts of attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Holloman and Assistant State Attorney Bill Long are prosecuting the case, while Defense Attorney Adrienne Bucchi is representing Riggins. Attorneys questioned 10 people on the stand about the events leading up to gunfire.
The shooting
Timothee said she was driving Hicks and his friends when she stopped at 33rd Avenue. Then, Riggins approached the vehicle and began arguing with Quinten Jones, one of Hicks’ friends who was in the car.
Jones confronted Riggins about “talking trash” about him to his close friend who had been incarcerated at the same prison as Riggins, reports show. The two got into a verbal altercation and Riggins asked where Jones would be later.
Witnesses said there was about a 30-minute time frame from the argument to the shooting.
Timothee and Akeemia King, another one of Hicks’ friends who was in Timothee’s vehicle, said a white car began following them as they traveled to a friend’s home on 25th Avenue. The group of friends arrived at the home for a gathering.
Then, a black Chrysler rode past twice. The second time, the vehicle rolled to a stop.
Witnesses said that Riggins was in the front-passenger seat when he pulled a black beanie over his face and fired several shots from a rifle. Prosecutors said Jones fired back at Riggins.
Prosecutors read a transcript from Jones’ grand jury testimony, where he admitted he shot toward the gunman three times in self-defense because he feared for his life. After the shooting, Riggins told a friend that Hicks was never the target, court records show.
Hicks, who was struck by the bullets, was taken to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Indian River County Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Scranton, another witness called to the stand, was a detective working the homicide case and said two different types of shell casings were found – one by the street and the other by the residence.
The house, and some vehicles nearby, sustained bullet holes, witnesses said. Riggins’ older cousin, Dominique Riggins, was jailed nearly a year after the shooting after deputies tracked him as being the driver of the Chrysler.
Deputies found a loaded Ruger 5.56 rifle in the trunk of the Chrysler, records show. Inside the vehicle, deputies also found the receipt for a purchased Kel-Tec .223 rifle from Indian River Sportsman shooting range.
Deputies have not been able to locate the Kel-Tec rifle. Deputies noted that .223 rifle rounds and projectiles were found on the ground and walls of the home, reports show.
The trial was expected to continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday.