BUFFALO, N.Y. — It has been a fast moving trial for a Lockport man charged with a hate crime after he was caught on camera pulling a gun on a woman after a minor crash. The prosecution has already wrapped its case against Jeffrey Calhoun, 63, on the first day of testimony.
Now it remains to be seen if Calhoun will take the stand or what the defense will present as his trial moves into its second day on Wednesday.
The main prosecution point once again stems from cell phone video played in court for the jury again Monday after it was widely shared on Facebook last summer.
It shows Calhoun struggling with Jeanneie Muhammad after she rear-ended his pickup truck at the intersection of Colvin Avenue and Sanders Road in North Buffalo.
Calhoun stands accused of two specific hate crime charges. One is for unlawful imprisonment for allegedly grabbing Muhammad and refusing to let her go while holding her car keys and purse. The second is for menacing as he is seen pulling out a silver handgun for which he had a carry permit and then proceeded to wave it around.
He is also accused of assault and impersonating a police officer.
Muhammad testified that she suffered a concussion and a swollen knee when she was slammed to the ground by Calhoun. She also said he tried to bite her at one point.
Muhammad also told the jury that Calhoun used a racial slur directed at her while he was detained in the back of a police car.
Other witnesses testified that they tried to intervene with the concern that Calhoun would hurt Muhammed. Police officers on the stand said they did not hear a racial slur from Calhoun, which Muhammad says was directed at her.
Defense Attorney Daniel J. Henry Jr. questioned some of the witnesses credibility. He pointed out that Muhammad was driving with a suspended license and did not initially mention the racial slur in her statement to police.
Henry also tried to demonstrate that Calhoun himself may have felt threatened as people surged around him to intervene in the confrontation.
Judge Christopher Burns expects the case to wrap up tomorrow and go the jury. Calhoun faces a seven year prison sentence if he is convicted on the felony charge of unlawful imprisonment.