Jury trial begins for man charged in Virginia high school graduation shooting

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A Virginia jury will decide whether to convict Amari Pollard of the first-degree murder of 18-year-old Shawn Jackson, who was killed moments after his high school graduation in 2023.

State prosecutors say Pollard, 20, shot Jackson six times outside of Huguenot High School's graduation on June 6, 2023. Pollard's attorneys claim the shooting was an act of self-defense.  

Jackson's stepfather, Renzo Smith, was also shot and killed during the incident, and several others suffered injuries from what the defense described as friendly fire from Jackson's friends. The government has not charged anyone in connection with the shootings of the other victims.

Details of the sequence of events that day are hazy. The state accuses Pollard of initiating the altercation; Pollard's attorney's say Jackson started it. It is undisputed that the two had bad blood before seeing each other at the graduation.

Jackson had spent the school year at home through a "home-bound" program for students whose lives have been threatened.

Richmond Commonwealth Attorney Colette McEachin told the 14-member jury for the trial of Pollard that began Monday that Jackson left the Altria Theater after graduation and crossed the street to a small park in the heart of Virginia Commonwealth University's campus to say goodbye to friends. He had planned to travel to North Carolina the next day to start a new job.

"He went from tassel to tragic," McEachin said during opening arguments.   

The prosecution claims Pollard, who was in attendance to see his cousin graduate, went to his car and returned to the congested post-graduation area with a handgun. At the same time, Smith followed Jackson into the park to get him back on the day's tight schedule, which included dinner and visiting relatives' gravesites, according to McEachin. After a heated exchange involving Smith and Pollard that led to a short chase, Pollard opened fire on Jackson.

"How did we get to this point where the defendant not only brings a gun to a high school celebration but fired multiple times into a crowd of people before he runs away?" McEachin asked the jury. 

The state called Jackson's friend Raymel Smith, who also graduated that day, as a witness. Smith told the jury that he saw Jackson on the ground and clapped in his face in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness. 

Pollard ran to a nearby parking deck and turned himself into a police officer. He feared for his life, criminal defense attorney Jason Anthony said.

Anthony claims that Jackson, Smith and a group of Jackson's friends threatened to kill Pollard before chasing him and left him with little choice but to shoot. He described Pollard as "passive Amari" and claimed he was backing down from Jackson and his group when confronted. Smith and Jackson's friends were in possession of firearms at the time.

"They threatened him six times," Anthony said during opening arguments. "Six times he did nothing."

Anthony told the jury that with his family behind him and the threats growing more serious, Pollard attempted to run away before Jackson caught up to him. 

"The kid who backed down is now being chased by five men with guns," Anthony said during opening arguments. "There is no law in the United States — there is nothing that you will hear that says Amari Pollard had to die that way on that day by these five men with guns, who ran him down like an animal."

Former Huguenot Principal Robert Gilstrap, one of several administrators who either resigned or was fired after a report showed that Jackson should not have been at the graduation because of his history of receiving violent threats, took to the witness stand and described Jackson's demeanor on the day as eager and excited. 

McEachin and Anthony each told jurors that extensive surveillance camera footage would clarify who was to blame for the shooting that resulted in Jackson's death.

Chief Circuit Court Judge Reilly W. Marchan told the jury they must determine whether the commonwealth can prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pollard intended to kill Jackson.

The trial is expected to continue through the end of the week. Jackson's mother, Tameeka Jackson-Smith, will be the first witness called Tuesday.

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