Emanuel Trial Ends Amid Name-Calling

The trial of Aaron Emanuel came to an explosive close Thursday, with the defense attorney calling Sharon Hatfield “a liar” and the prosecuting attorney calling Emanuel “a bully.”

After hearing spirited closing arguments from both attorneys, the jury of nine women and three men deliberated for 3 hours, then recessed for the day.

Deliberation in Emanuel’s misdemeanor trial, which is being heard in Pasadena Municipal Court, will continue today.

Emanuel, a sophomore tailback for USC last season, is charged with battery and serious bodily injury in connection with an alleged attack on Hatfield, 23, at a party May 3. He is also charged with misdemeanor battery in connection with an alleged incident involving Tammy Baird, 23, at a bar last Dec. 18.

In their closing arguments, both attorneys questioned the honesty of several witnesses.

Deputy Asst. Dist. Atty. David Demerjian especially questioned the testimony of Leroy Holt, a USC running back and Emanuel’s roommate.

“I think Leroy Holt came in here trying to help his friend,” Demerjian said. “But his testimony was not believable.”

Demerjian said Emanuel was a bully who had a problem controlling his temper and described Emanuel and Holt as a tag team that dealt out insults and taunts.

Demerjian pointed out that although defense attorney Lawrence Elkins told the jury in his opening remarks that Hatfield had struck Emanuel with a right cross, defense witnesses testified that Hatfield struck Emanuel with her left hand. She is right-handed.

Demerjian also pointed to discrepancies in the description of Hatfield’s alleged striking of Emanuel, noting that witnesses variously said Hatfield struck Emanuel on the left side or right side of his face, hitting him on his temple, cheek or jaw.

In the Baird case, Demerjian said the defense had presented confusing testimony regarding alleged incidents at the door of the 502 Club and at the bar.

Baird and another witness said that Emanuel had struck Baird twice while at the doorway. Emanuel denied ever seeing Baird at the door.

Regarding the alleged incident at the bar, where Emanuel is accused of shoving a beer bottle down Baird’s throat, Demerjian pointed out that Emanuel and Holt testified that not only did the defendant not strike Baird, but that she was drinking from a mug, not a bottle.

Elkins presented a fiery closing argument to the jury, his voice sometimes booming, then dropping to a whisper.

He portrayed the 20-year-old Emanuel as an immature young man who is a target because of his high profile as a football player at USC.

“I think the only thing the prosecution has been successful in proving is that Aaron Emanuel is an incessant needler and doesn’t know when to quit,” Elkins said in his closing statement to the jury.

He said that neither Hatfield nor Baird were to be believed, saying that each had been inconsistent in testimony.

Referring to Baird, Elkins said, “I think what you have on your hands is a very confused young lady.”

Elkins called Baird’s account of what happened at the door of the 502 Club “nonsense.” He admitted that Emanuel and Holt had often teased Baird, but that hurt feelings were not on trial.

Hatfield was described by Elkins as a calculating witness who was out to get Emanuel, with whom she had frequently had verbal exchanges.

“Sharon Hatfield is a liar,” Elkins repeatedly told the jury. “Don’t you see that she has every motive to lie?”

Elkins said that Hatfield’s reference to Emanuel grabbing her buttocks and standing “with a big grin on his face” was meant to describe him “like he’s some damn black monkey.

“Don’t you see that the more dirt they pile on Aaron . . . it makes him look like a demented woman-beater?” Elkins said. “This is nothing but a con game, that’s all.”

Elkins repeated his contention that Emanuel was acting in self-defense when he hit Hatfield, saying that Hatfield had hit Emanuel first.

“I say a woman steps out of the shoes of being a woman when she provokes an attack.”

Elkins called only one witness before resting his case Thursday morning, recalling Emanuel, apparently to establish that Hatfield had lost weight since the May incident. Elkins had argued that Hatfield, who was a pentathlete on the USC track team, was big enough to hurt Emanuel with a punch.

One prosecution rebuttal witness, Wendy Green, who was the hostess of the party May 3, testified that Emanuel had been holding the left side of his face after Hatfield allegedly hit him. That contradicted testimony by Emanuel and two other witnesses, who said that Hatfield struck Emanuel on the right side of the face.

Emanuel has been suspended from school for at least the fall semester.