Martin trial heads to jury

A 12-member jury has begun its deliberations on whether to convict Edward Martin of first-degree murder in the February 2022 shooting of 41-year-old Arrick Richards at the Coastal Taproom near Rehoboth Beach.

Attorneys for the state and the defense made their closing arguments Oct. 24, and Judge Mark Connor handed the case to the jury after eight days of witness testimony. 

Martin, 49, of Millsboro, served as the main witness in his own defense. It was a last-minute decision of Martin’s to testify, as he alerted his attorneys he wished to take the stand before the trial’s seventh day began Oct. 22.

Martin’s attorney, Daniel Strumpf, cut right to the chase, asking Martin why he shot Richards on his very first question. Martin said he thought Richards had a gun, and that Richards had made a threat to him while the two were talking trash to one another during a pool game. Martin said he saw a gun during the game but was not sure where or who had it at first. He said when it was mentioned that there was a surveillance video of the shooting, he initially wanted to see it because he knew he had seen a gun and wanted to know where. However, upon seeing the video, he realized he had shot an unarmed man.

Breaking into tears, Martin said, “It shattered me when I realized I shot an unarmed man. I had a hard time accepting it.”

He said when viewing the video, he saw customer Mack Jean-Francois, who was hanging around the pool table, flash a gun. Martin was armed with a 9mm Glock pistol, which he had in his pants. Jean-Francois had a concealed carry permit for his gun, while Martin did not. 

Strumpf then led Martin through his background. Born in Baltimore, Martin said his father committed suicide when he was an infant. Martin testified that he joined the Navy at age 18 and worked as, in his words, “a paper pusher” in the Pentagon. Sick of the office life, Martin joined the Seabees, the Navy’s construction battalion. There, he was trained in threat assessment and combat skills. He was discharged from the Navy in 2000 after getting caught smoking marijuana. 

Martin said he began carrying a gun after three spinal fusion surgeries left him feeling weak and unable to protect his family. He said he typically carried his gun in a holster. Martin testified that he did not have any previous violent felonies, but had been charged twice with misdemeanors in Maryland for possession of a deadly weapon and possession of a replica handgun, the latter charge coming when he was pulled over with his son’s BB gun in his car. 

Martin said he found work as a construction superintendent, a job he described as “part diplomat, part drill sergeant.” He said he has suffered from depression and anxiety in the past, taking prescription painkillers after his surgeries, and drank frequently.

On the night of the shooting, Martin testified that he and his wife, Christie, were planning a night out, including shooting pool, a favorite pastime of theirs. Martin said he and his wife had their own pool cues and Christie carried her own pool gloves. 

The two started at Amvets Post 2 in Long Neck, near their home. There, they had a drink and shot some pool before returning to their home. They then headed to Coastal Taproom, where they planned to play more pool. Martin testified that they were not regulars at Coastal Taproom but were familiar with the place because they used to play pool when the establishment was known as Grey Hare. 

During a game of pool, and having consumed three to five mixed drinks and a tequila on the rocks, Martin said Richards watched him line up for a shot and told Martin, “You better make that shot.” Martin said he responded, “Or let me guess, I’m a bitch?” Martin said Richards told him, “Yeah, you’re a bitch.” Martin said Richards kept talking trash to him until Martin confronted Richards and told him, “I’m not a bitch.” Martin testified that Richards started walking away from him and told Martin, “I’m gonna show you you’re a bitch.” He said he saw Richards put his hands in his pocket and was trying to see if Richards had a gun. Richards’ friend, Rico Stringfellow, had come between the two men in an attempt to separate them. It was at that point that Martin pulled out his gun and shot Richards in the chest.

“I lost control,” Martin said. 

After the shooting, Martin admitted to leaving the bar and later hiding his holster and spare cartridges, and throwing his gun out onto Long Neck Road, where it was recovered months later by a volunteer picking up trash on the side of the road. Police were able to test fire the gun and linked the serial number to a box that was found in Martin’s home. Martin said he was confused and didn’t know what to do.

“A man’s dead,” he said. “It’s something that weighs heavily on me. The whole thing was so unnecessary. None of this needed to happen.”

On cross-examination, Deputy Attorney General Martin Cosgrove questioned why Martin made the decision to bring a gun to two different bars and drink alcohol at the same time. Cosgrove showed the surveillance video to Martin to point out that Martin could not have seen Jean-Francois flash his gun. He said Martin reacted to the trash talk and the possibility Richards may have had a gun by pulling out his gun and shooting Richards in the chest. 

“That’s a big gamble,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove also questioned why, if Martin was trying to protect his wife, he left her there in the bar after the shooting. 

Besides Martin’s own testimony, the defense called two doctors, Dr. Robert Thompson and Dr. Robert Stanulis. Both doctors testified that Martin had suffered from anxiety and depression, and had been using alcohol regularly. They testified that Martin was under extreme emotional distress at the time he shot Richards. On cross-examination, Deputy Attorney General Amanda Nyman brought up that both doctors had relied on Martin’s statements as the basis for their diagnosis and that Martin had previously made statements about how he could talk his way out of anything. Nyman also brought up an incident from 2014 where Martin allegedly got into a fight with his father-in-law over a pool game. 

Martin faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder. He also faces four counts of reckless endangerment and additional counts of possession of a deadly weapon.