Who is Danny Bakewell, the Black L.A. power broker named in the Nury Martinez audio?
It all began on December 14, 2003, at 10:30pm, when a man known only as Danny Bakewell, approached a man known only as Nury Martinez and told him that he had a job and that he wanted to hire him.
What would the job be?
And what would the person who hired him do for him?
Well, that person was a gangster from L.A. named Jose “Doy” Ramirez, who was also on the phone with Nury Martinez, telling them to send him a check and to give the man they hired $100,000 cash.
This is the background info on Nury Martinez that’s been presented to the jury at trial. And it’s important because Nury Martinez is the only person we’ll be listening to through all of the closing arguments.
He is the only person from that night who has spoken a word.
The jury has been hearing evidence about this case for two weeks now. On Monday, they began hearing from the prosecution team. That morning, the first day of jury selection, the prosecutor presented a witness list.
It was a list of nine people who had been accused of being part of an alleged gang called the Gangster Disciples. The gang is alleged to have been responsible for the murders of many LAPD officers. And the prosecutor said each name on that witness list should be called to testify.
The first thing Nury said was “I don’t know what I can say to these people. I don’t know what they all look like. I don’t remember faces.”
But the prosecutor was unconcerned. “We just need the person,” he said.
And the person they called did testify.
Nury Martinez said he was standing outside the Black Book on West Broadway and Fifth in South Los Angeles when an LAPD car pulled up and four guys got out.
He said, “One pulled a gun from his belt,” and yelled, “Hey, what’re you looking at? Don’t stare at me.”
Another one pulled out a gun and told the others they were taking him to meet some man named “Doy.