KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Thursday afternoon, both parties rested their case in the trial for a deadly Kalamazoo bike crash. Closing arguments will now happen on Tuesday, May 1.
Despite the dozens of witnesses called upon by the prosecutor's office, testimony came to a close within just two and a half days. The defense had also lined up several witnesses, but chose not to bring any of them to the stand.
The third day of Pickett's trial began just before 9:00 a.m. The four survivors of the 2016 bike crash Pickett is charged with, all testified in court the day prior. But all the survivors remained in the gallery to watch the rest of the trial unfold.
So far, there have been more than fifteen witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution. Below is a brief account of each witness' testimony, in the order they appeared.
The prosecution started Thursday morning with forensic pathologist Elizabeth Douglas. Douglas was responsible for examining the injuries of the victims who lost their lives in the crash.
Richard Madison took the stand after Douglas -- he is a detective with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department. Madison was responsible for interviewing Pickett after the accident. Their interview took place in the hospital where Pickett was being treated. Pickett told the detective he had no recollection of the accident, he said his most recent memory was from earlier in the day.
Pickett told Madison he was in Kalamazoo visiting his girlfriend before the crash occurred, Pickett is from the Battle Creek area originally. In the interview, Pickett said he had been on methamphetamines for two years to help his nerves. Pickett explained that he had been tapering off the medication down to about three days a week -- in the weeks prior to the crash. He said he hadn't used them the day of the crash. However, Pickett did tell the detective he had taken Tramadol along with painkillers the day of the accident.
Pamela Barletta then took the stand. She was one of the last people to see Pickett prior to the crash. Barletta lives south of Battle Creek, but she was in Kalamazoo staying with friends for a few days in June 2016. Barletta testified she had had an argument with her husband and came to Kalamazoo to stay with her friends. She said she did not invite Pickett to come -- saying he just showed up at her hotel door. Pickett and Barletta then attended the funeral of Pickett's cousin, she said he was very visibly upset about his cousin's death.
Barletta said she wanted to go home and had asked Pickett to drop her off at her car.
"Charlie was upset," Barletta said. "He had a hard time letting me get out of the vehicle."
Once she got out of the car, Barletta said he peeled out of the Red Roof Inn after swallowing a handful of pills.
"He took a handful of pills in his hand... he chucked them in his mouth and said 'I ought to be dead'... and I said something like...'that's smart, that's real smart Charlie'...and then he drove away."
In cross examination, Barletta said that Pickett was having trouble with the brakes of the pickup truck that weekend. She also agreed that Pickett had also been upset about the condition of his dad's health.
Craig Butler took the stand next. He was picking up his daughter around 6:00 p.m. the day of the crash.
"I was suddenly tailgated, then passed on the shoulder of the road and cut off," Butler said.
Butler said the blue truck tailgating him was so close that he could not see the front of it -- he also identified Pickett in the court as the man he saw driving the pickup that day.
"When I looked over at the driver of the truck he was looking over at me and smiling," Butler said.
Matthew McMillen took the stand after Butler, he witnessed the tailgating and called police.
"I noticed the [Pickett's truck] tailgating the silver truck in front of it [Butler's vehicle]," McMillen said.
McMillen's 911 call was played for the jurors:
"Crazy driver heading west on Arboretum Parkway, blue...Chevy pickup...mid-90s model...passed somebody on the shoulder...almost lost control of the vehicle."
After a brief recess, Alvar Carlson took the stand. Carlson picked up his son from daycare just after 6:00 p.m. on June 7, 2016.
Carlson encountered Pickett on the road and said he became agitated with his crazy driving. He eventually did a U-turn in efforts to get Pickett's license plate.
Jurors also had the chance to hear Carlson's 911 call:
"Impaired driver at Arboretum Parkway...dark blue pickup truck...turning northbound onto Drake," Carlson told dispatch. "He was driving on the wrong side of the road...older gentleman...almost hit head on two cars in my lane. Pulled into the daycare at a high speed...it was weird."
Keith Wiley took the stand following Carlson. Wiley was driving home from work when a pickup truck came up behind his car. He also testifies that the blue pickup was driving erratically,, and Wiley said he noticed leaves and sticks in the grill of the truck. Wiley lives about a mile away from the scene of the crash.
"When I got home...I was there about a few minutes and I heard a bunch of sirens. I kind of put two and two together. Thinking 'boy, I hope it's not the vehicle I seen," Wiley said.
William Myers, a Kalamazoo resident, took the stand next. He lives on West G Avenue just off Douglas. Myers and his family watched from the kitchen as a pickup truck sped through their yard.
Myers 911 call was also played for jury:
"Could you send an officer... a pickup truck went right through my yard...he's gone."
Melissa Schultz was the final witness to take the stand prior to a recess for lunch. Schultz saw the pickup truck lurch out of a line of traffic through the grass, taking out a sign and coming to rest in the grass near Kalamazoo Central High School on North Drake Road.
Schultz got a quick look at the driver when he stopped in the grass.
"He looked very disoriented, his head was very fluidly moving. He just seemed very disoriented and very confused."
She also noticed a lit cigarillo in his mouth. By the time she was able to safely turn around and come back, Schultz said the truck was nowhere to be found. Her 911 call was played for jurors, in which she provides dispatch with the pickup's license plate and a description of it's driver.
Schultz was later brought to the scene of the crash to identify the pickup truck and Pickett as the driver.
Court started back up around 1:30 p.m. First, the judge announced some stipulations agreed upon by the prosecution and defense.
Tramadol and Cyclobenzaprine were both found in his blood, however, the Ketamine previously noted in his blood sample -- was actually given to him at Borgess Hospital.
The first witness following lunch recess is Michele Glinn, a lab director at a Missouri forensic lab, but she previously worked in forensics for Michigan State Police. Glinn provided testimony by phone.
Glinn said Pickett's blood levels tested beyond the therapeutic level for both Tramadol and Methamphetamine. Glinn explains that pill form allows for slowest form of drug absorption.
Glinn was the prosecution's final witness, and the defense has no witnesses to bring to the stand.
Closing arguments and final instructions will happen on Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Mr. Pickett chose not to testify.
►Emma Nicolas is a multimedia journalist. Have a news tip or question for Emma? Get in touch by email enicolas@wzzm13.com, Facebook or Twitter. And stay up to date with news by downloading the WZZM 13 app.