SALEM — While the prosecution painted a picture of a violent attack in its opening statements at the Belmer-Garcia trial that started on Friday morning, the defense suggested that a natural chemical reaction in combination with pre-existing health conditions were the cause of death of a Lynn man.
James Belmer and Jasmin Garcia, both of Lynn, were charged with the second-degree murder of Isaac Suggs, of Lynn, whom they allegedly assaulted and beat near his home on Newhall Street on July 15, 2017. Both are also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and assault and battery with serious bodily injury.
Judge Diane Freniere presides over the trial that is taking place in the Essex County Superior Court in Salem. The 16-member jury selected this week consists of an equal number of men and women. All jurors appear to be white, while Belmer, 26, and Garcia, 29, are individuals of color. Almost two-thirds of jurors look older than 50 years old. Only 12 jurors selected at random will participate in the final deliberation and deliver the verdict.
Freniere told the jurors that the opening statements from the prosecution and the defense are summaries of what the lawyers expect the evidence will show.
In her opening statement, accompanied by the surveillance footage from security cameras, Essex Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Gillespie, representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, told the jurors that Suggs’ death was caused by a three-and-a-half minute beating that he took from Belmer and Garcia.
“Isaac Suggs is punched, he is kicked, he is flipped over, he is held down,” said Gillespie, describing the beating.
She said he struggled to protect his head from punches. The fight was broken up by a third party with a baseball bat.
When Lynn police arrived on the scene, everyone involved in the fight chose not to tell the officers about it.
One officer called for an ambulance, once she learned about Suggs’ diabetes and saw him struggling to breathe. Suggs became unresponsive in the ambulance. He was taken to Salem Hospital, where the medical staff didn’t know what happened to him and had to consider several possibilities, Gillespie said.
Suggs was transferred via a medical flight to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he died two days later.
When Suggs arrived at MGH, he had acute-respiratory failure, acidosis (too much acid in the body fluids) and some other issues, Gillespie said. Over a period of time, his condition worsened. Shock to the system and worsening hypotension ultimately led to him dying, she said.
Gillespie said that the autopsy found physical injuries to Suggs’ body, such as abrasions to different areas, and some internal issues, including acute-cardiopulmonary failure as a result of the physical altercation that killed him.
“This case is not about emotion; it is about science,” said Aviva Jeruchim, defense attorney for Garcia, in her opening statement.
She said that Suggs’ death was “caused by him and him alone” because the victim initiated and engaged in a fight that exhausted his body and led to lactic acidosis.
Suggs smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes a day and had a range of comorbidities. He had diabetes and didn’t take insulin that day. He was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hadn’t taken his medication for it that day as well. There was cocaine found in his system, Jeruchim said.
Jeruchim proceeded to describe how Metformin, an anti-diabetic medication that Suggs was taking, has side effects and causes an increase of lactic acid in the body. She suggested that Suggs overexerted himself during the altercation with Belmer and Garcia, which caused the onset of terminal lactic acidosis. As a result, Suggs’ body tissues couldn’t get enough oxygen and his systems started to break down and shut down.
She also went over the video footage, pointing out that Belmer and Garcia were walking down Newhall Street that day, completely engaged and immersed in each other. Garcia had her cellphone in her hands, as well as an envelope with money she had been paid at her job.
They had already passed Suggs’ house when he came off his porch aggressively, Jeruchim said, arguing and taking a fighter stance. Suggs tried to come at Belmer and swing at him several times, but Belmer kept disengaging and backing off, she said.
Then Suggs pivoted to Garcia, who was almost at the other side of the street. He reached her, shook her by her shoulder, grabbed her by her throat and took her phone and money, which Jeruchim called an unarmed assault. When Belmer and Garcia tried to retrieve her possessions from Suggs, the latter continued swinging and throwing punches, Jeruchim said.
When Suggs fell to the ground and Belmer and Garcia started punching him, his size deflected the impact, Jeruchim said.
“At the end of the day, ladies and gentleman, this was an accident. Mr. Suggs died because of his own personal medical conditions, his medical neglect of himself and, most importantly, his repeated acts of aggression and exertion that led to a series of traumatic events on his own,” said Jeruchim.
Attorney Leonard Milligan III, who represents Belmer, recollected a social media “blue-or-gold dress” viral phenomenon to illustrate that some people perceive things differently. He brought jurors’ attention to the video footage again, to show that Belmer retreated behind a car and dropped his fist down and walked away in one instance.
Milligan said that Belmer, at 150 pounds, was half the size of Suggs, who was 6 feet tall and 300 pounds. Garcia is 4 feet, 11 inches.
“These much smaller people didn’t make a dent on him,” said Milligan.
There were no open wounds, no trauma, just abrasions on Suggs’ knees. Milligan said that neurology concluded zero trauma. And other medical professionals treating Suggs didn’t consider trauma as the reason for his state, he said.
Belmer and Garcia were protecting their property, but they didn’t cause his death, Milligan said.
The prosecution also was able to call upon several witnesses to testify on Friday before lunch, including Suggs’ sister, Isabella Suggs; Lynn Police Det. Paul Galatis; and Suggs’ friend Melissa Snow, who witnessed the fight, and allegedly picked up Garcia’s money off the ground, according to Jeruchim’s opening statement.