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A key witness who was with George Floyd on the day of his death informed the court that he would invoke the Fifth Amendment if he was called to testify in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.
The Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office filed a notice on Wednesday on behalf of Morries Lester Hall, 42, who was in the car with Floyd when police approached him for allegedly using a fake $ 20 note at Cup Foods in Minneapolis.
“Mr. Morries Lester Hall, through an undersigned lawyer, hereby gives notice to all parties in this matter that if called to testify he will invoke his Fifth Amendment to Privilege against self-incrimination.” said an opinion filed by Assistant Defender Adrienne Cousins. “Accordingly, counsel for Mr. Hall respectfully requests this tribunal to quash the subpoena … and to release Mr. Hall from any obligation therein.”
DEREK CHAUVIN BODY CAMERA TRANSCRIPT RELEASED IN TRIAL
In this image from the police body camera video, a Minneapolis police officer approaches George Floyd with a drawn gun on May 25, 2020, outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis. (Short TV via AP, swimming pool)
Authorities previously said Hall was a key witness in the state’s investigation of the four officers who apprehended Floyd. He was seen in police body camera footage sitting in the car with Floyd – his longtime friend – while another occupant, Shawanda Hill, sat in the back seat.
Prosecutors and defense attorney Eric Nelson also cited Hall as a potential witness in the trial of Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, according to reports.
Hall told the New York Times last June that Floyd did not resist arrest and instead tried to defuse the situation.
DEREK CHAUVIN TRIAL: MINNEAPOLIS STORE CLERK Felt ‘guilty’ for taking Floyd’s counterfeit bill which led to calling
“I could hear him plead, ‘Please, officer, what’s all this for? He said.
An official said Hall initially gave the officers a false name after Floyd’s death. He then left Minneapolis and was found in Texas and arrested on pending arrest warrants for gun possession, criminal domestic assault and criminal drug possession, the newspaper reported.
Hall described himself as a “key witness” in the Times interview.
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“I’m a key witness to the George Floyd murder by the cops, and they want to know my side. Whatever I’ve been through, it’s all over now. It’s not about me,” he said. .
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