Info on alleged crack pipe sought by defense for officer charged with murder

The defense for the Montgomery police officer charged with murdering civilian Greg Gunn in Feb. 2016 filed motions for discovery last week in an effort to get more information about what may have been a crack pipe found in Gunn's possession.

It was revealed at officer Aaron Cody Smith's preliminary hearing last year that broken glass was found among Gunn's possessions. Gunn was shot and killed by Smith after a stop-and-frisk led to a chase, a struggle and to Smith shooting Gunn after tasing and beating him with a metal baton.

State Bureau of Investigation agent Jason DiNunzio said at the preliminary hearing that the glass "could have been" a crack pipe. Smith's attorney Mickey McDermott said that while he is "not 100 percent" that the broken glass is a crack pipe, he received nothing about the glass during discovery. With the latest motion, McDermott hopes to get more information.

"What we're asking for is for the DA's Office or SBI to reveal anything about the crack pipe because the evidence we have does not indicate they have tested it for Mr. Gunn's fingerprints," McDermott said. "They didn't provide any of the evidence on that crack pipe. They testified to it in the preliminary hearing, but they didn't provide any pictures of it or tell us that they did anything with it or not and we want to know why."

The defense also requested a list of everybody who listened to or participated in the SBI investigation interview with Smith on March 1, 2016, and the policy and procedures for SBI witness interrogations.

DiNunzio declined to comment Wednesday on if the glass was tested for drugs or fingerprints, citing the ongoing nature of the case.

McDermott alleged after the March 2016 preliminary hearing that the pipe hinted at substance abuse and may have been a factor in Gunn withstanding three tasings by Smith, tasings Smith told DiNunzio "had little to no effect."

Smith stopped Gunn at about 3 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2016, and failed to turn on his body camera or his patrol car lights which would have automatically turned on the dash camera. Smith also told DiNunzio, "If there was anybody walking in that neighborhood at that time, he would have stopped them no matter what race they were."

Gunn fled from Smith during a pat down, and Smith told Dinunzio that it's not illegal to run from police and that he still had no charges on Gunn after tasing and beating Gunn.

Smith shot Gunn five times outside Gunn's next door neighbor's house.

Smith was arrested and charged with murder on March 2 and indicted by a grand jury in November.

Smith's defense has appealed Montgomery County Circuit Judge Greg Griffin's decision to not recuse himself from the case after a Facebook post the judge wrote about being stopped by an officer while out for a walk raised questions for Smith's defense about Griffin's impartiality. Griffin denied the motion to recuse.

"I live in west Montgomery. I live in the hood. Should I recuse myself from every criminal case that has happened on the west side?" Griffin said. 

Griffin added, "This is not a stop-and-search case. This is a murder case."

McDermott said he also plans to appeal Griffin's decision to deny his motion for a change of venue.