A client represented by Motta & Motta Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyers in a high profile weapons case was acquitted following a federal trial. After deliberating for just under six hours, a jury acquitted Vandetta Redwood of giving a loaded handgun that was used in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Endia Martin in April 2014. The South Side woman, 35, was also acquitted of possessing a firearm in a school zone.
The tragic shooting gained national media attention as an example of the ongoing violent crime that continues to plague Chicago. What began as an argument on social media escalated into an after school conflict that ended in the death of Endia Martin and gunshot injuries to another juvenile. Prosecutors brought federal weapons charges against Vandetta Redwood, saying that it was she who handed the .38 caliber revolver to the teenage girl who allegedly opened fire.
Lead attorney Alison Motta brought up questions related to the reliability of witnesses who claim they saw the gun being handed to the juvenile who allegedly fired it. Motta and the experienced criminal defense lawyer Chicago team noted for the court that several witnesses had reported different versions of what they saw to police and still other versions to a grand jury in Cook County in 2014. Also central to the federal prosecution’s case was a cell phone video of a fight among the juveniles involved that took place before shots were fired. However, the video didn’t show Vandetta Redwood handing the weapon to anyone.
Motta said that with the credibility issues concerning some witnesses and inconclusiveness of the cell phone video, the entire case against her client contained reasonable doubt. She said some witnesses were plainly urged by police and the prosecution to give statements that supported their side of the case.
“They were all shown the video and told whatever truth the government wanted,” Alison Motta said after her client was acquitted.
The result was a rare loss for federal prosecutors – particularly in a high profile case. Also of note and as a testament to the dedication of the Motta & Motta firm’s commitment to their clients, the acquittal comes at a time that federal authorities and Chicago police are feeling more and more pressure to win prosecutions in the fight against deadly crime in the city.
If prosecutors had succeeded with the charges against the client represented by Motta & Motta Criminal Defense Lawyer Chicago, she would have faced up to 15 years in prison.
