Jamie Hood calls his brother to the stand

Thursday, July 16th, 2015, 7:47pm

ATHENS, Ga. – Jamie Hood appears to be becoming increasingly upset as he continues to mount his defense in this death penalty trial.

Hood has admitted to shooting and killing Athens Clarke County Police Officer Elmer "Buddy" Christian and wounding Officer Tony Howard on March 22, 2011.

On Thursday, Hood called his brother, Matthew Hood, to the stand. Matthew Hood recalled the events the night of the shooting. He said he was driving an SUV and ordered to stop by Howard.

At the time, officers were searching for Jamie Hood, who was suspected in a carjacking and kidnapping.

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Olympic hopefuls train together at UGA

Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Wednesday, July 15th, 2015, 11:14pm

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ATHENS, Ga. -- For Abby Johnston and Laura Ryan, being in sync is everything.

"I think we have different senses of humor, but we get along well because we're just a little quirky and goofy," Johnston said.

Johnston and Ryan are the best synchronized diving duo in the country.

Their love: "Flying through the air."

Right now, they're at Ryan's alma mater – the University of Georgia – training for the upcoming world championships in Russia.

One of their coaches is UGA's diving coach, Dan Laak.

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Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Wednesday, July 15th, 2015, 6:27pm

ATHENS, Ga. -- Testimony in the trial of Jamie Hood ended early Wednesday after the accused cop killer told the judge he wasn't feeling well.

Hood, who with no formal legal training is acting as his own attorney, has often been stopped mid-sentence by objection from the district attorney. On Wednesday, he openly complained about it in front of the jury.

"Your honor, I would like to state for the record that I feel like I'm not getting a fair trial here because I'm entitled to a thorough sifting," Hood said. "I mean just a direct, and I think this is a central part of my case and you are taking it from me."

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Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Tuesday, July 14th, 2015, 6:16pm

ATHENS, Ga. – Admitted cop killer Jamie Hood spent much of Tuesday attacking the character of an officer he's accused of shooting.

Hood, who is defending himself against 70 counts in a death penalty trial, is trying to bring in testimony to bolster his story that Athens-Clark County Officer Tony Howard had it out for him.

Hood is accused of shooting and Elmer "Buddy" Christian and wounding Howard on March 22, 2011. He alleges Howard beat him up years earlier in jail and threatened that he would kill him.

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Detective Jeffrey Clark described Howard as a "very peaceful guy."

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Jamie Hood begins his defense in death penalty trial

Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Monday, July 13th, 2015, 6:15pm

ATHENS, Ga. – It was slow going as admitted cop killer Jamie Hood began his defense in his death penalty trial on Monday.

Hood is accused of shooting and killing Athens-Clarke County police officer Elmer "Buddy" Christian and Officer Tony Howard in March 2011 as authorities were searching for Hood for a kidnapping and carjacking earlier that day..

After firing not one but two attorneys, Jamie Hood insisted he would represent himself. Still, the judge has ordered those two lawyers to sit behind Hood and help when possible.

Hood was visibly frustrated at times as he called his first witnesses. Hood wasn't sure how to swear in his first witness. That led his standby counsel to writing -- by hand -- how exactly to phrase that.

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Submitted by Jennifer Leslie, 11Alive Reporter

Saturday, July 11th, 2015, 8:43pm

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ATHENS, Ga. -- The trial continued yet again over the weekend for admitted cop killer Jamie Hood and it brought some big developments.

This rare Saturday session in the death penalty trial of Hood brought two major updates – one on camera and another off.

Off-camera, Judge Patrick Haggard asked Hood if planned to testify in his own defense.

Hood responded "Yes, sir."

The other new information came from the state's final witness - a former Georgia Bureau of Investigations firearms examiner.

Kyle Felix showed the jury the pistol that was taken from Hood after surrendering to police in March 2011.

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Submitted by Duffie Dixon, 11Alive Reporter

Friday, July 10th, 2015, 6:33pm

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ATHENS, Ga. -- 11Alive has now learned more about the argument that admitted cop killer Jamie Hood will make to the jury in his death penalty trial. He intends to claim self-defense.

Hood, who is defending himself, is accused of shooting and killing one Athens-Clarke County police officer and injuring another in March of 2011.

Court started a few hours late, Friday, because of a sick juror. But in the meantime, 11Alive learned that Hood plans to tell the jury he is the real victim.

In a morning motions hearing, an animated Hood explained what his defense will be – the justification defense.

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