A judge in the 'nanny cam' trial threw out testimony from a police lieutenant who said he could identify the suspect in two videos.
NEWARK -- Jurors in the 'nanny cam' home invasion case were told Thursday to ignore a former police lieutenant's identification of the suspect in a video that captured the severe beating of a woman victim.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler told jurors that former Millburn police Lt. Keith Laverty did not know the suspect, Shawn Custis, well enough to identify him in a video that recorded the June 21, 2013 attack on a woman in her home or in a separate video showing Custis walking away.
"I'm striking those portions of Lt. Laverty's testimony and I am directing you to disregard that portion of the testimony," Wigler told the jury. The judge said the jury could still consider the testimony of two other witnesses who identified Custis in the videos because those people had known the defendant personally.
Wigler's decision came in response to a request from Custis attorney, Essex County Deputy Public Defender John McMahon, regarding Laverty's statements during the trial earlier this month.
Laverty had supervised the Millburn police investigation that led to the arrest of Custis, 45, of Newark, on charges of attempted murder and related offenses.
Authorities allege Custis broke into a home and attacked a woman, ultimately throwing her down basement stairway while her 3-year-old daughter sat nearby on the living-room couch and her 18-month-old son was asleep in an upstairs bedroom.
The case drew wide attention after police released a video of the assault recorded on a nanny cam, along with a video from a separate security camera allegedly showing Custis walking in the area near the Millburn residence around the time of the incident. Custis was arrested June 28, 2013, one week after the attack.
Laverty, when he first testified, said that after releasing the videos, police received tips identifying more than two dozen people as possible suspects, but said the evidence led investigators to Custis.
On Wednesday, Laverty again took the witness stand for cross examination by McMahon.
Under questioning, Laverty admitted that police did not follow-up on tips about more than a dozen of the other possible suspects.
The former lieutenant cited several reasons for not pursuing those tips, including that the information came in after investigators had gathered evidence connecting Custis to the assault.
Laverty said law enforcement officers knew some of the people mentioned in the tips and were able to discount them as suspects.
The trial is scheduled to continue next week.
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.