A prosecutor introduced evidence the defendant choked her two months before her killing.
NEWARK -- As Andre Higgs faced an Essex County jury from the witness stand Tuesday, he did not hesitate when one of his defense attorneys asked if he had intended to kill Latrena May on May 1, 2015.
"No, I did not," Higgs told attorney Joseph P. Rem Jr.
But in an attempt to establish just that intent, Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab introduced evidence that less than two months before her fatal shooting, Higgs had choked May, the mother of his child, during a domestic violence assault at the East Orange home where she was later gunned down.
Higgs, 45, of Watchung, was the last defense witness to take the stand in his trial before Superior Judge Ronald D. Wigler on charges of murder and other offenses in the killing of May, a teacher at Pride Academy Charter School.
Higgs' attorneys, Rem and Remi Spencer, seek to convince the jury that Higgs involuntarily pulled the trigger only after Lee shot first.
Higgs, who was shot by a passing police officer during the incident, testified he had just grabbed the .45-caliber Astra pistol from May before Detective Kemon Lee pulled up in front of 164 Tremont Ave., where the pair stood on the porch.
Lee testified in the first weeks of trial as the prosecution's star witness, and told the jury he shot Higgs only after the man shot May in front of him. His shooting of Higgs was later ruled justifiable by the state Attorney General's Office.
The couple's then 4-year-old daughter was sleeping inside the home at the time of May's killing, according to Higgs, and was unharmed.
Higgs testified that May had followed him out of the home with the gun after an argument, clad only in a tank top and underwear. He only took the gun, he told the court, because he feared May might use it.
"I know how a woman can be when they get upset," he said.
That was when, Higgs said, they saw the police officer pass by.
Lee testified he heard May call out "officer, officer" as he passed, in an apparent attempt to get his attention. But Higgs said, "she actually yelled out 'police'."
Higgs said the officer had his gun in his hand when he approached the pair, and he claimed he tried to shield May to prevent the officer from seeing that she was partially undressed.
"When I saw him hopping out of the car and reaching for his weapon, I said: 'My man, you're not going to believe this'," he testified. "He said, 'I'm not your (expletive) man -- come down now.'"
That was when Higgs said he raised his hands, still holding the gun, and the officer opened fire.
"My femoral artery was severed," he said of his injuries. "My femur on my right leg -- that was shattered." After falling back into the house, he testified, he slid on his butt across the floor, and back into May's apartment. He woke his daughter, who he sent upstairs to neighbors.
An assistant medical examiner testified in the opening weeks of trial that May was shot three times in her side, prompting Edwab to ask how, if Higgs had the gun in the air as he claimed, May could have been shot with it.
A Newark police ballistics expert previously testified that the bullets recovered from May's body matched the .45 being held by Higgs, which was recovered from the home's foyer by police following Higgs' arrest.
Higgs said he didn't remember the gun going off, although he did say it was still in his hand when he retreated into the foyer. He also said he didn't know if the gun was loaded when he took it from May.
"Well, did you know by the third shot that it was loaded," the prosecutor responded.
Rem attempted to preempt Edwab's rebuttal witnesses by asking Higgs whether he had choked May during a prior argument on March 25 -- an accusation the man denied.
Witness claims slain teacher showed him gun
But Steven Plumer, the East Orange police officer who took her call that night, said on the stand that May's home showed signs of a struggle, and her daughter was upset when he arrived. Plumer described what he said were "scratches and bruises" on May, which he acknowledged on cross-examination may just have been an impression around her neck.
"He got in my face ... and he put his hands around my neck and choked me in front of my daughter," May told a police dispatcher in a recording played for the jury.
The dispatcher, Eugena Spann, told the court she was "not completely sure" whether the call came in through 911, or as a call transferred to dispatch.
Plumer said officers escorted May to the East Orange Police Department so she could file a report, which later resulted in a complaint being filed against Higgs for the alleged assault.
Before the jury was released for the day, Wigler instructed them that the evidence of the choking evidence could only be considered in determining whether Higgs intended to kill May, not whether he has a tendency to commit crimes.
Summations are scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
