These distinguished attorneys, Michael Elliott and Leigh Love were awarded the prestigious Atticus Finch Award, by their peers for Outstanding Work in Criminal Defense.
After years of observing courts in both Harris and Fort Bend, this has to be my all time favorite case. I’m going to try and give you my version of what really happened in the courtroom some three years after the crime.
The Jurors: I took my seat and tried to study the people in the courtroom. My eyes went to the faces of the jurors. Five blacks, 3 who appeared to be Middle Eastern, Hispanic and the rest appeared to be Caucasian. Since this was a black on black crime, I was intensely interested in how the blacks on the jury would react and judge this crime. This was one of the most engaged juries I have ever seen, with the exception of the lady on the front row, who nodded off periodically. The black male jurors were particularly watchful and took copious notes during the trial.
The Families: As I glanced to my right and on the back row, across the aisle, were the relatives of the deceased George Kemp, Jr., looking stressed and anxious, as they waited for the trial to begin. Behind me sat one older black gentleman; alone, quiet, without one tell of emotion. I would later learn that he was the grandfather of the defendant. Directly in front of me sat the defendant, Brandon Coleman – a small young man, slight in appearance, who looked to be no more than 5’4″.
I’ve always told my children as they grew up “Nothing good happens after midnight” and this story is a perfect example.
When I looked at the defense and prosecution teams, as they postured with their boxes and boxes of evidence and testimony, I couldn’t help but place myself in the “what if” situation. What if this were my child that had gone out one night to a football game and never returned home? What if this were my child facing a life term and I might never see him again outside of bars? And then….the opening remarks, the testimony from detectives, sheriff’s officers, and expert witnesses that seemingly went on for days.
The Trial: Let’s begin with Ms. Leigh Love, who was part of the defense team, along with Michael Elliott. Her opening remarks were intricate as she wove together the players in this night of murder. There were lots of Jr.’s, several Brandon’s, including the defendant, two Colemans. I was thinking to myself, I would never ever get the names straight. It was unbelievably confusing, but somehow before the trial was over I was very familiar with them all; almost able to see them in my mind’s eye.
The Young Men Involved: The tragedy began with two groups of young men (8-10 of them), whether on drugs, or alcohol, who knows, on what started out to be an average evening, with plans for some of them to attend a Foster High School football game. However, lurking in the minds of several young men was anger over wrongs they felt were perpetrated by another. As the evening wore on, the rhetoric and music escalated to rage. A cry to get even. Words like “I’m going to your house and hurt your grandma”.
George Kemp’s group decided to pay a visit to Brandon LeCouer’s neighborhood of Lakemont. Near midnight they drove to the end of the street where LeCouer and Sebastian Spence (remember the name Spence) lived, and with car lights off lay in wait for LeCouer to get home. All the while, Kemp is texting LeCouer with threats of violence.
The Deceased: A dark September night at the entrance to a cul de sac two cars packed with young males, music blaring, threats of what they plan to do to their victims. Kemp was the first one to exit the car. Piling out of the cars came young men tearing off their shirts yelling and screaming. George Kemp, Jr,’s cousin Brian Dillworth immediately jumped on Brandon LeCouer and took him to the ground and was dominating the fight. LeCouer is yelling “shoot the ….., shoot the …..” Bullets ripped through the dark, George Kemp, Jr. falls lifeless and there begins a mad scramble to escape the scene. The lives of everyone involved would be forever changed.
The Detectives: Fort Bend County Sheriff’s officers are called and it becomes an investigative mess. They chased down several that had escaped…Brandon Coleman not found anywhere in the mix. In my opinion, it was a case of having groups of black kids that were fighting, isolating them in a squad car and let’s just hurry up and find the perpetrator and move on.
The lead detective was remiss in every way. Gun shot residue tests were done on two of the young men. None done on Brandon Coleman, the accused. No search for security camera footage, no search for the guns. No scientific or forensic evidence.
Who, What, When and Where: One eyewitness account was from Brian Dillworth, the deceased’s cousin, that Corey Coleman, not Brandon, had a 40 caliber gun silver and black and to his knowledge he was the only shooter. However, there were 3 spent casings and 1 live round from a semi-automatic. Kemp was shot 5 times. At least one appeared, from my impression, to be from friendly fire.
Remember Sebastian Spence? At the time of the shooting he was a next door neighbor to Brandon LeCouer; a scared young 14 years old asked to go along for a thrill ride to get even with people he didn’t even know. He has been interrogated at least 5 times. As we watched the video of the lead detective interrogating this young boy, I was struck by how frightened and vulnerable he looked. The detective showed Spence a picture of Brandon Coleman and asked if this was the young man he saw that night with the gun and the one he saw shoot George Kemp, Jr. He said “Yes”. In my humble opinion, in an attempt to make up for either his lack of desire to apprehend the right individual, or for the need to just get things over with, this detective was absolutely inept. There was a total failure on the part of the Investigator to do a complete and thorough investigation. To think that this could have been one of my own that was either the victim or the perpetrator is scary. (I’m not saying all Sheriff’s officers are like this. The vast majority are outstanding.)
Long story short…one confused 14 year old identified Brandon Coleman as being there, but could not identify him 3 years later in the courtroom. One eyewitness account identified Brandon Coleman as being there, but without a gun. The majority of the witnesses could not identify Brandon Coleman at all. Interestingly, he does not live anywhere near the Foster High School or Lakemont area, as did the vast majority of the young men. Now we have two victims of this horrific crime. The accused and the deceased.
While the jury was excused many times, when the state or defense had testimony or evidence that could not be heard, I observed some of those involved in the case. The mother of the deceased, a beautiful young woman, her very handsome husband were surrounded by family. Looking at this attractive young couple, I could only imagine how attractive their young son must have been. The mother left many times during testimony. The anguish of hearing the recounting of her son’s death was very telling, though she remained stoic.
Behind me sat the grandfather of the accused, Mr. Coleman. A man of some years; gentleness and kindness, along with notes of sorrow were seen in his face. He was always alone. I was able to get to know him and I asked him why he was all alone. His response, “I could fill this courtroom with family, but out of respect for the victim’s family I felt it best to come alone. My faith is in God.” I have great admiration for this gentleman.
The Accused: The small young man with his back to me sat motionless throughout the trial. He showed had no facial expressions that would tell you what he was thinking. The only “tell” were the underarms and sides of his shirt soaked with perspiration. When he stood, his waist band on his pants was pulled into bunches because of obvious weight loss. After all, these 3+ years of living in limbo have taken their toll on him. He looked so small and young.
The Attorneys: Leigh Love and Michael Elliott were the defense team. Mr. Benihoff led the Prosecution team.
If I should ever take leave of my senses and decide to commit a crime, Elliott and Love are my first choice. They are respectful of the jury, thorough, succinct and prepared. I cannot say enough about these two.
Conversely, I would never want to be an opposing attorney, an unprepared witness, or an officer, or expert witness who did not do my job. They leave you with absolutely no excuses, room for mistakes, or sloppy investigations. Ready with an objection or a sidebar…they command the courtroom.
I felt badly for the prosecutors. They had nothing to work with. How disheartening to show up to court with one bad witness and investigator after another. They did their best and conducted themselves with dignity and decorum. I could tell they truly had a heart for the parents of the deceased.
The Judge: The Honorable James H. Shoemake, 434th District Court of Fort Bend County. One of my very favorite judges. Never a need to worry about a well run court. Judge Shoemake is thoughtful, respectful, considerate and fair, but tough!. Not one given to instant answers, I could see Judge thoughtfully weighing objections and the many nuances of the law that were brought before him.
During Mr. Elliott’s request for a very difficult decision, we sat patiently as the Judge read every word of the pleading. It seemed like an eternity, but if it were my case I would want his undivided attention to every jot and tittle.
We ended Court on a Friday after weeks of testimony. Many of the jurors decided they wanted to stay on another week and not opt to leave and have an alternate take over for them. They were a magnificent group. I was so disappointed and yet filled with anticipation about what Monday would bring. This had to be an anguishing weekend for the families.
Monday morning Mr. Elliott calls for what is called a Directed Verdict, before the jury enters the room. These are Mr. Elliott’s reasons for asking for this very unusual and difficult ruling:
NO EVIDENCE OF THE FOLLOWING:
- Prior knowledge
- Only one witness Dillworth, (Kemp’s cousin) reported he was 100% sure Brandon Coleman was at the scene.
- Possession of firearm
- Coleman shot Kemp
- Bodily Injury to any
- Danger to human life
- A party to the death
- Sebastian Spence testimony was unsworn and impeachable
- No scientific or forensic evidence
The Judge’s Directed Verdict: For the above reasons, Judge Shoemake instructed the jury to find the defendant, Brandon Coleman not guilty.
- a note of interest. Judge Shoemake said he had only granted two “directed verdicts” in his many years on the bench. Both of these involved the same attorney…Mike Elliott. One was when he was a prosecutor and was not in his favor. This one as a defense attorney was in his favor.
The Jury’s Verdict: NOT GUILTY, unanimous decision.
BRANDON COLEMAN’s head dropped to the table in front of him, as he wept. His Grandfather sighed loudly, as if all the stress of the last years was leaving his body.
Brandon hugged his attorneys had a round of pictures with them and said he was going to continue with college; he and his girlfriend are expecting a baby in September.
GEORGE KEMP, JR’S family left the courtroom quietly. I truly hope they will find justice for their son. Someone knows who killed him.
My Thoughts: George Kemp, Jr. robbed of his life. His parents bereft and will not have the joys of watching their son grow to manhood, get married and have children…all over a stupid argument. He will never return home.
Brandon Coleman, a life interrupted. Over three years of hell from the moment his grandparent’s door was kicked in until the verdict was read. I pray that he continues his path to success and leaves friends and acquaintances behind that do not lift him up.
Are there winners and losers in this case? Most definitely. Though Brandon’s attorneys won this case and he was set free to continue his life, a huge part of his life was lost because of shoddy investigation. There are no winners in this story, but there was JUSTICE!
- I just visited with the defense attorney and he had polled the jury, after the trial. They were unanimous in saying they would have voted “Not Guilty”, even if they had not had a “directed verdict”.
QUESTION: How did they ever indict this young man with such little evidence? We will go into the Grand Jury system at a later date.
Fort Bend Justice Center 