NEW ORLEANS — Witnesses took the stand Wednesday in the trial of 18-year-old Curtis Tassin, the teen accused of escaping state custody three different times.
Tassin is facing an armed robbery charge after police say he allegedly used a gun to carjack a woman.
Craig Mordock, an attorney not involved in Tassin’s case, explained the difference between armed robbery and carjacking charges.
“Carjacking has a sentence of five to twenty years in Louisiana, whereas armed robbery has a much higher and longer sentence, fifteen to ninety-nine years,” Attorney Craig Mordock said.
The victim took the stand, describing the terrifying moment she says the suspect grabbed her keys and put a gun to her head.
Defense attorneys claimed when the victim was asked to choose Tassin out of a lineup, she didn’t point him out as the perpetrator.
The victim then claimed the potential suspects had striking similarities, making it difficult to choose the right guy.
After the state rested their case, an NOPD detective who was with the victim as she chose from the lineup took the stand, confirming she didn’t choose Tassin.
According to Mordock, misidentification usually isn’t a strong argument for the defense.
Misidentification is a very difficult thing for a defense lawyer to win unless it is blatant, and she's also going to have a chance to correct herself on direct examination because the defendant is going to be there and she's going to be able to identify him in court,” Mordock said.
Around 4 p.m., Judge Nandi Campbell called it a night. Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday at 9 a.m.
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