A deteriorating relationship between two brothers led to a shooting, lawyers said Tuesday.
Michael Smith, 66, of Gary, is on trial this week.
He is charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury and domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon. He had pleaded not guilty.
Special Prosecutor John Meyers told jurors in opening arguments it was a “dumbfounded case.”
After he showed up at their mom’s Gary home, Smith shot his brother at “almost point blank range,” Meyers said. He fired four times, hitting the man once in the chest.
The victim, he said, was armed. He had a friend there, and a home security technician was there. The shooting happened as the tech and victim were coming upstairs from the basement.
Their mom’s health had been declining. The victim brought her to live with him for a few days, then took her to an assisted living facility.
The mother asked the victim to change the house code. Smith still had a key. The following day, the victim found the keypad was “ripped out.”
Smith showed up, uninvited. The shooting “happened so fast,” the victim “didn’t have a chance to defend himself,” Meyers argued.
Defense lawyer Sean Mullins, with co-counsel Steven Mullins, argued it was a self-defense case.
Jurors would have to decide who — Smith or his brother — had “credibility.” Both would testify, he said.
The prosecutor was arguing the victim “never pulled out his gun.”
Neither weapon was recovered by the cops, Mullins said. Three bullet fragments couldn’t be matched to a weapon. He argued the spread was “defensive.”
The victim took their mother unilaterally to the nursing home without telling his other brothers where she was, the lawyer argued. Smith went there to find out where she was.
Smith fired “multiple” shots to defend himself as he ran out of the house, he said.
The two others in the home — the tech and friend — the victim paid them to be there, Mullins said. He argued neither one directly saw the shooting.
The police barely investigated, the lawyer argued.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Smith’s brother, the victim, told police his mother had recently wanted Smith out of her house on the 800 block of Georgia Street and had changed the locks.
They were installing a new security system when the shooting happened around 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2021, he told police.
Smith has a criminal history from various states, including a seven-year prison stint for armed robbery, kidnapping and aggravated assault in Arizona.
The case is before Judge Natalie Bokota.
mcolias@post-trib.com