Rochester, NY (WROC)- A judge ruled statements murder defendant Charlie Tan made to police while being arrested for his father’s murder, as well as a photo of Tan leaving an Ithaca Walmart prior to the murder, will be allowed as evidence at trial. Tan is accused of killing his father, Ling Tan, also known as Jim, inside the family’s home in Pittsford in February. Charlie Tan is currently free on bail.
Tan walked into court this morning with his attorney James Nobles to hear the judge’s decision. Nobles said he and his client are pleased with the decision, one that allows a video still of Tan leaving an Ithaca Walmart prior to the murder to be allowed as evidence at trial. The decision also allows a statement Tan made to police upon his arrest to be heard by jurors as well.
“That statement was essentially, along the lines of ‘I had to do it, I believed he was going to kill my mother.’ “At the hearing we withdrew our request to suppress that statement,” said Nobles. “And we consented to the D.A. using that in their case, in chief. The second issue, was regarding a photo identification of my client, alleging that he had been at a Walmart sometime previous to the shooting. “
“Every trial is a construction of evidence in which you’re trying to convey information to a jury,” said Monroe County Assistant DA William Gargan. “You try to have as many pieces of evidence that you possibly can that will allow a jury to make a decision based upon what you’ve gathered through your law enforcement agents that have worked on the case.”
Charlie Tan’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 10th, just four days before his murder trial is expected to begin.
Tan walked into court this morning with his attorney James Nobles to hear the judge’s decision. Nobles said he and his client are pleased with the decision, one that allows a video still of Tan leaving an Ithaca Walmart prior to the murder to be allowed as evidence at trial. The decision also allows a statement Tan made to police upon his arrest to be heard by jurors as well.
“That statement was essentially, along the lines of ‘I had to do it, I believed he was going to kill my mother.’ “At the hearing we withdrew our request to suppress that statement,” said Nobles. “And we consented to the D.A. using that in their case, in chief. The second issue, was regarding a photo identification of my client, alleging that he had been at a Walmart sometime previous to the shooting. “
“Every trial is a construction of evidence in which you’re trying to convey information to a jury,” said Monroe County Assistant DA William Gargan. “You try to have as many pieces of evidence that you possibly can that will allow a jury to make a decision based upon what you’ve gathered through your law enforcement agents that have worked on the case.”
Charlie Tan’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 10th, just four days before his murder trial is expected to begin.
