A Boone County jury watched a video in open court on Tuesday afternoon that was recorded by a Columbia man on trial for robbing and sexually assaulting two sex workers.
26-year-old Xavier Blake Gee is charged with 11 felonies, including kidnapping and four counts of sodomy.
Prosecutors say Gee recorded one of the alleged sexual assaults on his phone.
939 the Eagle News was in the courtroom again on Tuesday when a television monitor was turned around to face the jury, Boone County Judge Jeff Harris, Boone County assistant prosecutor Nick Komoroski and defense attorney Kevin O’Brien. The video was played in court, and a 939 the Eagle reporter could only hear audio. Gee wrote notes on a notepad, as the video played in court.
Gee declined to take the witness stand on Tuesday. Closing arguments are set to begin this (Wednesday) morning, after Judge Harris finishes jury instructions.
Defense attorney O’Brien has questioned the credibility of one witness, noting she didn’t tell CPD that she was a sex worker when she called them after the December 2020 incident at Columbia’s Motel 6. The woman admitted under cross-examination that she had used fentanyl around the time of the incident, but emphasized to the jury that she had not used drugs that evening.
The jury is expected to get the case later today.