Timberlake’s fate in jury’s hands

A Charlottesville jury began discussing Thursday whether Theodore Calvin Timberlake killed a 19-year-old city resident during a shootout last summer, a decision complicated by conflicting arguments about who should be held responsible.

As of press time, the jury had not reached a verdict.

Timberlake was charged with first-degree murder, attempted malicious wounding and firearms violations in connection with the July 19, 2008, fatal shooting of 19-year-old Joshua Magruder. Magruder was shot during a shootout at an apartment complex at Sixth Street Southeast and Monticello Avenue.

The jury listened to instructions and closing arguments before beginning deliberations around 1:30 p.m.

Trenton Michael Brock and Bobby Wayne Gardner Jr. also were charged in connection with the death, but they were offered plea agreements if they testified truthfully against Timberlake. The plea agreements have not yet been signed.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Lloyd Snook said that Brock’s story hasn’t consistently added up, noting inconsistent testimony about a .357 revolver that Brock testified that he hid under the stairs at his mother’s house. Brock’s girlfriend, who Brock said drove him to his mother’s house, testified that she, Brock’s girlfriend, was intoxicated that night and didn’t have access to her car.

“What we know is that Trenton Brock has given you a story with no corroboration,” Snook said in court.

Snook hypothesized in court previously that it was Brock, not Timberlake, who should have been on trial.

However, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Platania said in court that it was possible that Brock tried to set up Timberlake, but Brock testified that while he saw Timberlake in the parking lot of the apartment complex, he didn’t see Timberlake with a gun.

Platania also said in court that Brock provided a small detail that corroborated his whereabouts during the shootout. Specifically, Brock described his location in relation to a car that he used to depart the scene.

“Trenton Brock did not shoot and kill Josh Magruder,” Platania said in court. “He didn’t do it. There is no evidence that he did it.”

Five hours after starting deliberations, the jury asked for clarification and more information about the concept of “concert of action.” Circuit Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. previously instructed the jury members that if they decided to find Timberlake guilty, then they had to decide if he was guilty of murder as a principal in the first degree or while acting with others — part of a “concert of action.”

Look for the latest on the case at DailyProgress.com and read the full story in Saturday’s Daily Progress.