The murder trial of Michael Isaac Russ got off to a slow start Monday morning due to complications with members of the jury.
Russ, 40, of 4511 Colonial Circle, Trinity, is charged with murdering Larry Wayne Campbell, 27, of Denton, on Dec. 22, 2017.
Campbell, a father of three, was shot and killed in a parking lot outside BBQ Joe’s Country Cooking, 4873 NC 62, Trinity.
Following a four-day holiday weekend, one juror returned with news of a weekend filled with health problems; another returned with a request to attend a funeral Wednesday and a third juror did not initially return at all.
The third juror, contacted by a deputy after several calls to her phone, said she was sick. Superior Court Judge Bradford Long requested she make her way to the courthouse.
Following questioning of all three jury members, Long ruled that the two jurors experiencing health problems would remain on the jury. Long also announced that on Wednesday, the trial would not resume until 1 p.m., in order to allow for the other juror to attend his family member’s funeral.
After the issues were resolved with the members of the jury, Randolph County Sheriff’s Det. Brandon Merrill, the lead investigator of the case, was recalled to the witness stand.
The prosecution, led by King Dozier, concluded questioning of Merrill Wednesday before the long weekend.
A mannequin, dressed in Campbell’s motorcycle jacket and vest, was put back on display for the jury to see.
Thomas Manning, who is representing the defendant along with Alan Swain, both of Wake County, asked that Merrill point out each pocket on the jacket and vest and illustrate the depth of each pocket with his hand.
A large pocket on the interior of his vest is likely where Campbell would have stored a firearm.
Adam Lewis, who works at the N.C. State Crime Lab in Greensboro, also testified Monday morning. Lewis was deemed an expert in drug chemistry analysis.
A small plastic baggie containing what was presumed to be methamphetamine that was found in the defendant’s truck following his arrest was sent to Lewis to be tested.
Lewis’ testing determined that 2.49 grams of methamphetamine were in the bag.
Following Lewis, a former member of the Iron Patriots Biker Club, of which Campbell was a member, took the stand.
Mark Fritz testified that he was involved in the formation of the Iron Patriots eight or nine years ago.
Fritz addressed the controversy that existed surrounding their bottom rocker — the words written across the bottom of a motorcycle vest.
“When we first started (the club), it was North Carolina,” Fritz said. The bottom rocker was shortly thereafter changed to say “Band of Brothers” because they didn’t want to “cause problems or step on any toes.”
When asked by Dozier to further explain why they changed the bottom rocker, Fritz added, “We had one club — the Hells Angels — that had a problem with our bottom rocker.”
Fritz left the club a few months after the rocker was changed to “Band of Brothers.”
Shortly before Campbell’s death, the bottom rocker was changed back to “North Carolina,” which according to testimony given by prior witnesses in the trial, denotes the idea of “territory.”