by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 17 – Back in March 2018 then US Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced that "on March 17, 2018, Mario Powell called a livery cab in the Bronx then threatened the driver with a gun and demanded cash. The driver handed over $23 in cash. Powell exited the cab and then shot the driver seven times."
On May 16, 2023, Powell was on trial before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. Inner City Press was there and covered it.
The driver Jeffrey Cisnero Camacho, who survived, was on the witness stand. He said he had been shot nine times, and still has two bullets in his leg. He said the two police officers who helped him, Jennifer and Sean, were "angels." He cried.
In the courtroom gallery, his relatives including one of his daughters listened. On the other side, apparently family members of the defendant.
On May 17, on the stand was Mario Powell's brother in law, who identified him to police. In the courtroom gallery, ten supporters of Powell, who barely looked at the exhibits on the screen. No sign of the victim (understandable), nor of his family. On cross examination the brother in law acknowledged he was only linking the person in the surveillnance video footage to Mario Powell, not directly to the shooting.
On May 18 in closing arguments the AUSA listed 11 reasons to conclude Mario Powell was the robber and shooter, coming again and again to the bright blue Air Jordans with the orange Gatorade tag. There were PowerPoint problems. The defense emphasized, No gun, No DNA, No prints.
After 5 pm, the pre-sentence investigation report was ordered up. Docketed on May 19: "JURY VERDICT as to Mario Powell (1) Guilty on Count 1s,2s."
More detail, from Endless Sentences, on Substack here
The case is US v. Powell, 18-cr-287 (Engelmayer)
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
