CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — The production company that gets unprecedented access behind the scenes of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police investigations may be forced to hand over hours of footage that would normally be destroyed.
Crews with "The First 48," an A&E series that follows investigations by crime scene investigators, detectives and homicide detectives from around the country, have been on the scene of nearly every homicide in Charlotte since March.
Jeremy Smith, an attorney with Smith and Roberts Law Firm, filed a motion with the District Attorney's Office to gain access to all the footage connected to two of his clients. One client is Jonathan Fitzgerald, who is charged with murder in connection with a stabbing off Central Avenue in August. The other is Wendell Lemaitre, who faces murder charges in connection with a shooting at the Budget Inn Motel off North Graham Street in July.
"A video document of what's going on shows closer to the truth," Smith said. "So why should there be a problem with looking at it?"
Smith said something in the footage from CMPD's investigations may help his clients, and it's the court's responsibility to look into that.
"That's what I'm required to do as their attorney, and that's what the state's required to do as a prosecutor," he said.
He said he anticipates that the production company, Kirkstall Road Enterprises, will fight to keep the footage from coming out, but added that the company should have expected this.
"It was a choice they made when they started filming homicide scenes," Smith said.
Smith said lawyers in Memphis, Tenn. tried something similar a few years ago, but were denied.
If Smith's motion is granted, footage from several other investigations may have to be released, too.
Right now, CMPD has editorial control over what footage makes it on the air. Eyewitness News contacted CMPD to see if they would continue doing the show if more footage had to be released. Officials said their attorneys haven't yet seen the paperwork and will not comment until they do.
Eyewitness News also put in calls to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's office and A&E, but didn't hear back on Friday.
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