PARAGOULD — Psychologists testifying for the state Wednesday rebutted earlier testimony that Jerry Lard has a mental deficiency and could not premeditate the slaying of a Trumann police officer.
In rebuttal testimony, two forensic psychologists and a neuropsychologist each questioned the methods used by physicians who testified for Lard and said he suffered from brain damage.
Lard, 38, is charged in the fatal shooting of Trumann police off icer Jonathan Schmidt during a April 12, 2011, traffic stop in the Poinsett County town.
His capital-murder trial is being held in Greene County Circuit Court after attorneys requested that it be moved from Poinsett County.
Schmidt, 30, stopped a vehicle driven by Brian Keith Elumbaugh, in which Lard was a passenger.
Video taken from dashboard cameras on Schmidt’sand Sgt. Corey Overstreet’s patrol cars showed in court last week that Lard shot Schmidt as the officer opened the rear passenger-side door to talk to him.
The video showed that Lard then got out of the car and shot at Overstreet, who was not injured.
The video showed Lard chasing the two officers. Lard shot Schmidt twice with his gun and then shot the officer in the face with Schmidt’s .40-caliber handgun while the Schmidt pleaded for his life.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Defense attorneys questioned five witnesses Tuesday, two of whom said Lard’s ability to control impulsive and violent behavior is impaired.
On Wednesday, psychologists said Lard’s actions on the video presented a basis for a different diagnosis.
Garrett Andrews, a neuropsychologist with the Veterans Affairs’ Medical Center in North Little Rock, testified that he thought Lard showed “purposeful and deliberate” actions when he shot Schmidt and at Overstreet.
“The officer [Schmidt] was in a vulnerable position when [Lard] fired his weapon,” Andrews said.
He said Lard shot at Overstreet as the officer ran and avoided shooting Elumbaugh, whom the video showed asbeing momentarily in the line of fire.
“He did not just impulsively pull the trigger,” Andrews said. “He followed his target.
“All those things - control, planning and purposeful actions - people with brain damage could not do that.”
Earlier, Courtney Rocho, a forensic psychologist at the State Hospital, testified that she questioned the testing a South Miami, Fla., psychologist conducted to determine that Lard has brain damage.
Barry Crown testified Tuesday that Lard’s mental deficiency prevented Lard from premeditating Schmidt’s killing. Premeditation is a required component to prove capital murder.
Crown said he determined that Lard suffered brain damage from childhood head trauma and chronic methamphetamine use. He said Lard functioned at the mental equivalency of a 10-year-old.
Rocho said she interviewed Lard for more than two hours on Oct. 20, 2011, and she found that he does not have brain damage.
“[Lard] showed he could take care of himself, and he maintained his home,” she said. “Jerry Lard functioned at the age of a 37-year-old.”
Defense attorney Katherine Streett questioned Rocho’s professional experience, saying Rocho was licensed to conduct unsupervised evaluations only three days before she talked to Lard.
Lard’s half brother, Ricky Lard of Trumann, testified that Jerry Lard often wrotepoems and enjoyed drawing skulls, dragons, motorcycles and cars.
Ricky Lard often stopped during his testimony to wipe tears, as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jimmy Gazaway asked him about his half brother.
He said he saw Jerry Lard at about 10 p.m. on April 12, 2011, about an hour and a half before Schmidt was shot.
“He acted like he was tired and wanted to go home and lay down,” Ricky Lard said. “He told me he’d see me later.”
At one point, Ricky Lard looked at his half brother sitting at the defense table. Jerry Lard smiled and nodded - one of the few emotions he has shown since his trial began. Ricky Lard nodded back.
Defense attorneys asked for a mistrial after Raymond Molden, a forensic psychologist with the State Hospital, testified that Lard appeared not to suffer any brain damage and could “appreciate the criminality of actions.”
Molden said Lard once had a friend pawn his handgun because Lard knew he had a felony charge against him and couldn’t sell the gun.
Lard’s previous criminal history is not allowed in his trial.
Circuit Judge Brent Davis asked jurors to ignore Molden’s comment.
Rebuttal testimony will continue before the jury of seven women and five men today.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 07/26/2012