Trial of James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter, continues with third day of testimony
(CBS DETROIT) - The trial for James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, continued Monday in an Oakland County court with the third day of testimony.
Oxford High School counselor Shawn Hopkins testifies
Shawn Hopkins, a counselor at Oxford High School, was the first witness to testify Monday morning. Hopkins was the shooter's counselor.
During his testimony, email exhibits from the spring and fall of 2021 were shown from two teachers who had reached out to Hopkins expressing concern about the shooter's behavior in the classroom.
According to one email, a Spanish teacher contacted Hopkins on Nov. 10, 2021, saying that the shooter was having a rough time and that Hopkins might need to speak with him.
Hopkins testified that he spoke with the shooter between classes and told him that if he needed to talk, he was available for him. Hopkins did not contact the shooter's parents at the time because the information he had was that the student was sad, which is not unusual.
On Nov. 29, 2021, Hopkins received an email from another teacher saying they observed the shooter looking at pictures of bullets on his phone.
On the morning of the shooting, a teacher sent Hopkins and the school's restorative practices coordinator an email stating that the shooter was watching "videos on his phone of a guy gunning down people."
Hopkins discussed the in-person meeting he had with Jennifer and James Crumbley and the shooter on Nov. 30, 2021, and testified that he told the parents that he would like the shooter to get support outside of the school and to have someone that he could talk to.
Hopkins testified that he wanted to see the Crumbleys get their son mental health support within 48 hours and he planned on speaking with the shooter the following morning if the shooting had not occurred. If there was not a plan in place to get the shooter support, Hopkins testified that he planned to contact Child Protective Services.
Defense attorney Mariell Lehman followed with a cross-examination of Hopkins.
Former Oxford dean of students, ATF special agent testifies
Nicholas Ejak, the former dean of students at Oxford High School, was the second witness to testify on Monday.
Ejak said he was primarily responsible for the student code of conduct while working as the dean of students in 2021.
Brett Brandon, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified third on Monday. He has been with the ATF for 15 years and has been a special agent for the last 11 years. Brandon is currently assigned to the Pontiac Gun Violence Task Force - a partnership between the ATF and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
He testified that he has been a part of hundreds of shooting investigations and that during the Oxford shooting investigation, he reviewed returns of seven cell phones, social media returns, financial information, fire records and surveillance footage.
On Friday, four witnesses took the stand for the prosecution on what marked the second day of testimony. Robert Koteles, a latent print and in-field crime scene supervisor with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office forensic lab, was the first witness called. Koteles is a 17-year veteran of the sheriff's office.
Koteles discussed his five-page crime scene report and said investigators found 14 fired cartridges in one hallway in the 200 Wing and an additional 18 fired cartridges in another portion of the wing.
Cammy Back, the office manager of a firearms store in Oxford where James Crumbley purchased the gun that was used in the shooting, testified second and was followed by Joe Brian, a detective sergeant with Oakland County Sheriff's Office special investigations unit and Oxford High School assistant principal Kristy Gibson-Marshall.
Testimony on Friday concluded around 2:30 p.m. after the prosecution ran out of witnesses they had scheduled to testify for the day. After Friday, Judge Cheryl Matthews said the trial is running ahead of schedule.
On Thursday, March 7, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said that James Crumbley made threatening phone calls while in the Oakland County Jail. His access to a phone and electronic messaging has now been limited to his lawyer. The sheriff's office did not go into detail about the alleged threatening statements.
The 15-person, all-white jury is comprised of nine women and six men. The jury is made up of a majority of parents who have dealt with mental health issues, and six jurors are gun owners.
James Crumbley's trial comes on the heels of Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the shooter, who was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in February. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.
READ: Two witnesses testify on first day in trial of James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter
James Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors accuse him of purchasing the gun that was used in the shooting for his son and not getting his son the treatment he needed for his mental health struggles despite his requests for help.
James Crumbley's trial comes on the heels of Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the shooter, who was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in February. She will be sentenced on April 9.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged in the Oxford High School shooting where their son killed four students, Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, and Hana St. Juliana, and injured seven other people on Nov. 30, 2021.
The shooter was sentenced in December 2023 to life in prison without parole.
CBS News Detroit will stream live coverage of the trial each day, beginning at 9 a.m.
