MILWAUKEE — Prosecutors have ended their case and the defense has begun testimony in the trial of Theodore Edgecomb, who is accused of shooting and killing a Milwaukee immigration attorney near Milwaukee's Brady Street in 2020.
Theodore Edgecomb is the defendant in the case and isaccused of killing Jason Cleeremanin September of 2020 near Holton and Brady Streets. He faces one count of first-degree intentional homicide. Edgecomb's defense argues he fired in self defense.
The state rested its case late Monday morning, and the defense began its presentation.
Defense attorneys indicated Edgecomb will testify Tuesday.
The judge said he wants the trial to finish on Tuesday, so the jury may get the case soon.
One of the state's final witnesses Monday morning was Milwaukee Police Detective Rodolfo Alvarado. He testified he interviewed Evanjelina Cleereman, the wife of Jason Cleereman, on scene after the shooting.
He testified she told him she and her husband first saw Edgecomb that night when they were driving west on Brady and swerved to avoid Edgecomb, who was on his bike.
During cross examination, defense attorneys questioned the detective if he found out where specifically this encounter took place.
"At any point in this investigation, did you ask Ms. Cleereman to get inside the vehicle to take five or 10 minutes to locate the location of the first incident?" said defense attorney B'Ivory LaMarr.
"No," the detective replied.
Prosecutors then pointed out Edgecomb fled the scene.
"Did the other guy in the incident ever walk into MPD and say, I know exactly where this thing happened?" Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Grant Huebner said.
"No," the detective responded.
The defense team raised concern about this line of questioning, citing their client's right to silence.
The judge ruled the question was okay.
"Mr. LaMarr, again, tried to imply that the police officers were not doing their job," said Milwaukee County Judge David Borowski. "Had Mr. Edgecomb stayed there, he could have said this is what happened."
Once the state rested, the defense team began to call its own witnesses to testify, including several Milwaukee Police officers. Defense attorneys questioned them about the role they played in helping investigate the scene, asking who they interviewed and how they helped point out potential surveillance video.
The defense then called Stephanie Trotter to testify. She said she was driving with her family near Holton and Brady Streets when she noticed a woman in distress.
"I asked her, did you call 911, she said no," Trotter testified. "So I began to call 911. She stayed on the phone."
Cleereman testified last week she called family and friends in the moments after she witnessed the shooting.
During cross examination, prosecutors pointed out Trotter told police Cleereman was too upset to call 911.
"You basically just stated that she was too shaken to call 911, so you called for her?" Huebner said.
"I asked her if she called 911, she said no, so I called, yes," Trotter replied.
Cleereman's wife testified during the trial on Friday. Evanjelina Cleereman spent about two and a half hours on the witness stand.
Evanjelina testified she and her husband, Jason, were heading home from a bar that night. She was driving on Brady Street and said she swerved away from Edgecomb, who was on a bike.
"My husband shouted out the window, 'What the heck,'" Evanjelina said.
She drove a short ways forward and stopped at a red light. That's when she says Edgecomb rode up to the passenger side window, where her husband was sitting, and punched her husband. Edgecomb rode away.
"Jason said, 'Just turn the corner, I want to talk to him,'" Evanjelina said.
On the Holton Street bridge, Jason got out of the car and headed towards Edgecomb. Evanjelina said she saw Edgecomb had a gun and shouted a warning to her husband.
"All I saw was this man's eyes and the gun, and then I knew he was going to shoot my husband. I could just feel it," Evanjelina said. "And then he pulled the trigger."
Edgecomb left the scene down the stairs. Evanjelina testified she ran over to her husband. She said she put her hand on his back and took his wallet out of his back pocket.
"I wanted something to hold onto," Evanjelina said. "I couldn't hold him, so I wanted to hold his wallet."
On cross examination, defense attorneys pointed out Edgecomb rode away on his bike after the punch.
"Mr. Edgecomb never made a threat to you, did he?" asked defense attorney B'Ivory LaMarr.
"No," Evanjelina replied.
Defense attorneys questioned Evanjelina why she didn't call 911 after her husband was punched.
"Everything happened so quickly," Evanjelina responded. "I was stunned...at that time when I'm thinking all this and I'm trying to drive, my husband says, 'can you turn the corner, I want to talk to him.' And so I trusted my husband."
Prosecutors indicated Friday afternoon they plan to call four to five witnesses on Monday.
Then the defense team will present its case. They plan to call Edgecomb to the witness stand, who they say plans to claim self-defense.
On Friday afternoon, one woman on the jury panel was dismissed for a family emergency. Now 13 people — 12 plus one alternate — are hearing the case.
