OXFORD, Mich. – The previous owner of the gun that was used to kill four students at Oxford High School might testify during James Crumbley’s trial.
Crumbley, the father of the shooter, is facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter after his son killed four students and injured seven other people during the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting.
Crumbley was in court Wednesday, Feb. 21, for a motion hearing in front of Judge Cheryl A. Matthews. The matters under consideration were additions to the prosecution’s witness list.
Prosecutors asked for permission to call the previous owner of the SIG Sauer 9 mm handgun used by the shooter at Oxford High School.
Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast said the man is the “original purchaser” of the gun. He bought the gun from the firearm store in May 2021, used it three times, and then sold it back to the store on Nov. 13, 2021, Keast said.
Crumbley and his son went to the store and bought the gun about two weeks later, on Nov. 26, 2021.
“He was added in response to statements made by Jennifer Crumbley’s attorney during her presentation of the case, as well as Jennifer Crumbley’s testimony,” Keast said. “Now, I don’t know what counsel’s argument is going to be regarding the firearm. I don’t know if Mr. Crumbley is going to testify or what he might say. So we added that individual.
“He’s potentially a rebuttal witness. Obviously, we have no obligation to identify rebuttal witnesses. However, should the argument be presented in a certain fashion similar to that of Jennifer Crumbley, I think the background of that firearm -- how it was stored, how it was bought and sold -- would be relevant to the jury. So he was added after hearing the co-defendant’s case-in-chief, judge.”
In this sense, “case-in-chief” refers to the primary argument made by Jennifer Crumbley’s defense attorney, Shannon Smith. Keast was pointing out that part of Smith’s argument centered on her client’s claim that she wasn’t the main person responsible for the storage of guns in the home.
Keast said the gun’s previous owner isn’t necessarily only being added as a rebuttal witness. He said that would depend on the defense’s strategy.
“I was struggling with the relevance he might bright to the case,” Matthews said.
“He bought the eventual murder weapon in May (2021),” Keast said. “He used it three times. He was provided with a cable lock. He never used the cable lock. He identified that as the same cable lock sold back to the firearm store, which in turn will be identified by those witnesses as the same cable lock sold to Mr. Crumbley.”
“OK, I get it now,” Matthews said.
A worker at the gun store testified during Jennifer Crumbley’s trial that with each gun purchase, customers are given a lock for their new weapon. It was established that James Crumbley and his son received a cable lock for the SIG Sauer when they purchased it on Nov. 26, 2021.
During her testimony, Jennifer Crumbley said that the cable lock -- she called it a “string lock” in a message shown in court -- was kept on the SIG Sauer when it was at her home. Prosecutors showed pictures of the cable lock in a plastic baggie, claiming it had gone completely unused since James Crumbley bought the gun.
Matthews clarified that the previous gun owner would “potentially be in (the prosecution’s) case-in-chief, but you’re asking for him on rebuttal, at a minimum.”
“Well, potentially on case-in-chief, and it really just depends on how the case progresses, judge,” Keast said.
James Crumbley’s defense attorney, Mariell Lehman, argued that the witness isn’t relevant to the case, but Matthews disagreed and ruled that he will be allowed to testify.
