Jury to determine if alleged cop killer fit for trial

When Marcus Floyd regained consciousness weeks after he was shot, he claims he couldn’t remember why or how five to six bullets ended up in his body.

His last memory, he maintains, was of him watching television with his girlfriend at his place in East Garfield park while his daughter played with toys nearby.

Floyd needed to be told that he was the accused gunman in the deadly shooting of a Chicago Police officer and that his cousin was killed during the crime.

Now, a Cook County jury will be determining whether 24-year-old Floyd, who said he suffers from “retrograde” amnesia, is fit for trial in the murder of Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV.

Prosecutors argued Tuesday that Floyd is capable of assisting his defense team and should stand trial for the May 19, 2010 murder.

“It doesn’t matter if he has it [amnesia] or not. … He can logically and rationally talk about the charges with his lawyers. He can logically and rationally talk about evidence,” Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Deno said in his opening arguments.

“This is not a catatonic individual.”

Floyd’s attorneys are asking jurors to find him unfit for trial.

Floyd may have recovered from his injuries but he cannot recall being outside Wortham’s parents’ home or the chain of events that led to the violence at 85th Street and Martin Luther King Drive, they said.

“He can’t assist in his defense because he doesn’t know what the defense is,” defense attorney David McMahon said.

In most instances, a judge determines whether a defendant is fit for trial. But defense attorneys opted for a six person jury and two alternate jurors to weigh in on their latest motion.

The prosecution’s witnesses Tuesday, forensic psychiatrist Mathew Markos and forensic psychologist Christofer Cooper, said that while Floyd says he may not remember the night in question, he does not seem to have any long-term memory loss or cognitive and intellectual impediments.

Both mental health experts deemed him fit for trial, adding that Floyd could recall with detail events before and after Wortham’s murder.

“He has very good capacity to learn and retain information,” Markos said.

“Amnesia per se doesn’t mean the person is unfit,” Markos added.

Floyd ended up with a lacerated liver, kidney and lungs as a result of his wounds near and on his abdomen. He also endured two heart attacks, lost four liters of blood and suffered anoxic brain injury while hospitalized, according to court testimony.

But Floyd could recall what teams were playing in the NBA playoffs while he was recovering and rattled off his 11-digit jail identification number during a recent evaluation, Cooper said.

Markos said during his evaluations, Floyd was able to tell him how he had applied to Walmart, Jewel and Target before Wortham’s murder. He also was able to detail his current life in Cook County Jail, reciting the daily lunch, dinner and breakfast menu, Markos said.

During an evaluation, Cooper said Floyd told him: “I was told that I was the shooter.”

Markos said Floyd also told him he was told he was armed with a gun when Wortham was killed, but he denied having a weapon, Markos said.

During cross examination, Markos conceded “assuming he does not remember,” Floyd would “not be able to provide his version” of what happened.

Floyd and his cousin Brian Floyd had accosted Wortham with their guns drawn that spring, hoping to steal the officer’s Yamaha motorcycle, prosecutors said.

When he was confronted, Wortham pulled out his gun and shouted he was a police officer before gunfire erupted.

Having heard the commotion, Wortham’s father, a retired Chicago Police sergeant, ended up firing on the Floyds with his revolver and his son’s service weapon.

Floyd’s cousin, 20-year-old Brian Floyd, died in the shootout.

The lookouts in the shooting — Paris McGee and Toyious Taylor — are currently serving life sentences for Wortham’s murder.

Marcus Floyd’s fitness hearing before Judge Timothy Joyce will resume Wednesday.