An accused cop killer was nearly brought to tears Tuesday, when his very first supporter showed up in court – eight days into his Queens murder trial.
Jai Brown squeezed into the sea of blue that’s been a daily presence at the trial of her nephew, Demetrius Blackwell, who could face life behind bars if convicted of fatally shooting Officer Brian Moore in May 2015.
An ecstatic Blackwell twisted around in his seat, beaming, waving, and blowing kisses at Brown, as she sat alone among the hoards of cops who’ve turned out daily to support Moore’s family. The emotional display came just days after his attorney requested seats in the gallery for Blackwell’s brother, who never showed.
Blackwell allegedly opened fire on Moore, fatally striking him in the head, after a Queens Village neighbor called 911 because the career con had tossed a brick through his window.
Another neighbor testified Tuesday that he found Blackwell, a childhood friend, hiding out in his apartment and acting funny less than an hour after the shooting.
“Demetrius, he looked out of sorts, he didn’t look like himself,” Andre Tucker told jurors, noting the then-35-year-old had also changed clothes–and was wearing shoes that were “three or four sizes too big.”
“Don’t I look crazy?” Tucker–who admitted he was testifying as part of a deal to have his own drug charges lessened–claimed Blackwell mouthed at him as they sat in the living room. “I said, yeah, you do.’ He was five feet away from me, and he said ‘Don’t say anything.’ ”
Additional reporting by Emily Saul