The second day of the murder trial for Hykeem Tucker and Maurice Skillman was held Thursday.
TRENTON - The second day of the murder trial concerning the slaying of a Mercer County Corrections Officer three years ago saw everything from a lighter to two hats in a street entered as evidence.
But by the end of the afternoon, Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson said much of that evidence seemed to have little connection to the two men accused of murder.
Maurice Skillman"We have a lot of evidence now that doesn't mean anything," Smithson said.
Thursday was the second day of a trial for Hykeem Tucker and Maurice Skillman, two men accused of shooting 26-year-old Mercer County Corrections Officer Carl Batie to death in November, 2012.
In the opening of the trial Wednesday prosecutors said that Tucker and Skillman arrived at the Baldassari Regency banquet hall and fired 22 shots at a balcony where Batie was standing with around 50 other people, killing the 26-year-old.
Authorities have said Batie was not the intended target.
On Thursday prosecutors showed jurors a lighter, a baseball cap and a winter hat, all of which were found in the area outside the banquet hall around the time of the shooting. They also entered photos of cars parked outside the Baldassari hall around that time.
But Thursday afternoon, Smithson excused the jurors before telling the courtroom that he took issue with the hours of discussion and the clothing, lighter and parked cars that were entered as evidence.
Hykeem Tucker"People drop things all over the place," Smithson said. He claimed the evidence did not seem to be connected to Tucker or Skillman. "It has to be relevant, authentic and competent evidence."
Assistant Prosecutor Jim Scott told Smithson that he was trying to prove through the evidence that police did a thorough investigation of Batie's killing. He said he wanted to assure jurors that police had not just rushed to judgment in charging Tucker and Skillman.
A similar issue was raised by defense attorneys Nicole Carlo and Chris Campbell on the opening day of the trial. They claimed Wednesday that video surveillance, which showed two men walking near the banquet hall just before the shooting, did not prove that Tucker and Skillman were involved.
After a short sidebar to discuss Smithson's concerns Thursday, prosecutors, defense attorneys and Smithson agreed to meet Monday morning before moving ahead with the trial.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.