Written by Scott Muska October 18, 2011
SNOW HILL — The re-trial of a 19-year-old charged with committing murder with an assault rifle got underway Tuesday with opening arguments and the first of the prosecution’s witnesses.
Skylor Dupree Harmon, 19, of Pocomoke City, had his first trial end in a mistrial in July when jurors were unable to agree on a verdict. Harmon is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of Reginald Handy Jr.
Among the defense’s witnesses Tuesday were Deputy Dale Trotter, a crime scene investigator for the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation. Cropper and members of the State’s Attorney’s office returned on Sunday night to the area of 500 Young St., where the military-grade assault rifle had been found the day after the murder.
Trotter testified that if he had been standing in that area with the gun at the time of night the murder was committed, he would have been able to shoot a person standing where the victim had been shot.
From the area where the gun was found to the area where Handy was shot was about 65 yards, according to Trotter, who said the distance was “definitely” in the rifle’s range.
Testimony is scheduled to continue tomorrow and Thursday.
Harmon's uncle, Alexander Crippen, was originally charged in the May 2010 murder, but charges were dropped before Crippen's trial. Crippen was later convicted of attempting to kill a different man, based on testimony about his actions at the same scene where Handy died.
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