By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 8/6/09
The trial of a Fort Myers man charged as a principal in the shooting death of another during a botched armed robbery began Wednesday.
The robbery victim and eyewitnesses testified against Damion Shearod, 22, in connection to the May 16, 2007, incident.
Shearod is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, attempted armed robbery with a firearm and armed burglary.
According to witness testimony, Shearod and 21-year-old John Patrick Moore Jr., armed with a revolver, attempted to rob Jacob Seckler at his Cape Coral home at 2125 N.E. First Ave.
Jazzmyne R. Carrol-Love, Moore's girlfriend, waited nearby in Shearod's car.
Seckler was mowing his lawn when Shearod and Moore confronted him with the gun, Seckler told the six-man, two-woman jury.
"I did what people do in wild west movies and put my hands in the air," he said. "I said, 'Are you kidding?' They said, 'You think we're kidding. We'll shoot you right here.'"
Seckler said Moore beat him with the gun in the entryway of the home, until Moore dropped the weapon and Seckler grabbed it, fatally shooting him in the front yard.
"I grabbed the gun," Seckler said. "I did not aim, I just turned around and started shooting."
Shearod fled, attempting to convince Cape resident Lisa Wright to give him a ride, then hiding in the back porch of another nearby home. He was found and detained by the police.
Seckler said he believed one of his wife's acquaintances, Carroll Cody, was behind the robbery, though Cody has not been accused or charged in the incident.
Cody reportedly admitted to stealing Seckler's expensive watch days before the robbery.
Seckler said Cody threatened to pour acid on his wife's face if she tried to get the watch back, though presiding Judge Mark Steinbeck asked the jury to disregard the information.
"I assumed that there was some connection (between Cody and the robbery)," Seckler said.
Carrol-Love also took the witness stand Wednesday, testifying that she saw Seckler shoot Moore.
"I just saw (Seckler) lift his hands and after that, all I remember is (Moore) coming to the end of the driveway and falling," she said. "I jumped into the front seat and I took off because I didn't know if the guy was going to shoot me.
"I had no idea where I was driving to, I just wanted to get from in front of his house because I didn't know what he was going to do," Carrol-Love said. "As soon as I got out of the neighborhood there was a policeman right behind me."
She said she did not realize Moore and Shearod had planned to rob Seckler until they approached him with the gun.
According to Cape Coral detective Walter Herman, Shearod also claimed that he was not initially aware of the robbery.
"He said, 'I didn't know my buddy was going to rob that white guy. I didn't touch the guy,'" Herman told the jury Wednesday.
Seckler testified that Shearod was an active participant in the robbery, and even bit him on the back during a struggle.
Shearod's trial resumes at 9 a.m. today.
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