HOUSTON, Texas – Last-minute motions and evidence were admitted in the third trial against Antonio Armstrong Jr. Thursday.
Armstrong Jr. maintained his innocence for seven years. Prosecutors say he killed his mother, Dawn, and father, Antonio Armstrong Sr., during the summer of 2016.
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The Armstrong family alarm system is a flash point for both sides in the trial.
Armstrong Jr.’s team is asking for donations to aid the legal team. In a since-deleted post from the Instagram account @donateajarmstrong, the team appears to be asking for more than $10,000 in donations for a new legal expert.
That’s because prosecutors are trying to bring in Alarm.com Vice President of Consumer Operations Jason DaCosta as an expert witness who can testify about the alarm system at the Armstrong home.
DaCosta’s name has appeared in court records from previous trials, but this would be the first time he’s called on as an expert.
There is a problem with this witness. Prosecutors interviewed DaCosta on May 23.
Typically, there is a 20-day notice of expert testimony to allow both sides plenty of time to set up arguments, but there isn’t enough time with four days until opening statements.
“I’m not saying it’s in bad faith,” defense lawyer Rick DeToto told the court. “We are arguing he should not be allowed to testify and should be excluded.”
Judge Kelli Johnson is taking that under consideration before making a ruling.
Another witness the judge is considering is Antonio Armstrong Jr.’s aunt.
She worked at Antonio Armstrong Sr.’s ‘1st Class Training Gym,’ and can authenticate the video of two men breaking into the gym after Armstrong Jr. was arrested.
There was a small back-and-forth dealing with the crime scene and autopsy photos. Judge Johnson ruled to allow all of them into evidence.
The last flash point deals with Antonio Armstrong Jr.’s cell phone.
He was called to the judge’s bench to answer a series of questions and acknowledged that what was recovered could be used for and against him.
Judge Johnson put stipulations on the phone. Only messages dealing with Armstrong’s parents, wife, and about setting a fire can be used between April 1 - July 29, 2016.
These dates matter because, on the 26, prosecutors claim AJ attempted to start a fire inside the family home after an argument.
On the 28, Dawn and Antonio Sr. were killed.
Opening statements begin at 10:30 a.m. on Monday.
KPRC 2 will return with “The Bench” before the trial starts on KPRC2+ at 8 a.m.
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