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Self defense shooting conviction overturned
Josey1
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Conviction overturned second time
Man claimed self-defense in 1999 killing of neighbor
By Andrea F. Siegel
Sun Staff
Originally published August 3, 2002
For the second time in two years, an appeals court overturned the murder conviction yesterday of an Annapolis man who said he fatally shot his neighbor in a crime-ridden area of the state capital, but contended he fired in self-defense.
The trial judge should have told Anne Arundel County Circuit Court jurors that if they believed that John Thomas Logan III feared that the man he later killed would attack him, Logan had the right to arm himself, a Court of Special Appeals panel ruled in a 2-1 decision.
Logan, 25, was convicted last year of second-degree murder and gun charges in the Jan. 22, 1999, slaying of Wayne D. Addison, 20, and sentenced to 50 years in prison, the same outcome as in the first trial in November 1999.
The Court of Special Appeals overturned the first conviction in October 2000 because the trial judge let a detective testify that part way through his interview with Logan, the defendant asked for a lawyer.
The county's chief prosecutor vowed to challenge yesterday's decision and to retry the case if appeal efforts failed.
"It is very close. We ought to get a ruling by more judges," said Frank R. Weathersbee, Anne Arundel state's attorney.
Logan and Addison, friends while growing up, had a falling out over a car that Logan argued he bought in 1997 but was in Addison's possession. Logan filed charges against Addison in 1998. The case was referred for mediation.
John Logan Jr. said yesterday that he would welcome a third trial for his son and, because he believes some witnesses lied in the earlier trials, hopes a retrial would be an opportunity to "let the truth be told."
Circumstances of the shooting - Logan shot Addison as the victim was in a taxi outside a grocery store - were at issue in both trials. Logan said he fired because Addison, who had beaten and threatened him before, was reaching for a gun.
Police did not find a gun at the scene. According to testimony, one of the victim's relatives took items, but no gun, from Addison's pockets before police arrived.
The majority opinion, by Judge Arrie W. Davis, faulted now-retired Judge Eugene M. Lerner for refusing a defense request for the jury instruction on being armed. Instead, Lerner told Logan's lawyer, Roland Walker, that he could make that argument to the jury.
But in his dissenting opinion, retired Judge James S. Getty wrote that the instruction refers to fearing immediate harm. With testimony that Addison and Logan threatened "to kill each other for nearly a year, both men could have strapped on a gun every day in case of a chance meeting," he wrote.
Copyright c 2002, The Baltimore Sun
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http://sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.ar.logan03aug03.story?coll=bal-local-arundel
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Man claimed self-defense in 1999 killing of neighbor
By Andrea F. Siegel
Sun Staff
Originally published August 3, 2002
For the second time in two years, an appeals court overturned the murder conviction yesterday of an Annapolis man who said he fatally shot his neighbor in a crime-ridden area of the state capital, but contended he fired in self-defense.
The trial judge should have told Anne Arundel County Circuit Court jurors that if they believed that John Thomas Logan III feared that the man he later killed would attack him, Logan had the right to arm himself, a Court of Special Appeals panel ruled in a 2-1 decision.
Logan, 25, was convicted last year of second-degree murder and gun charges in the Jan. 22, 1999, slaying of Wayne D. Addison, 20, and sentenced to 50 years in prison, the same outcome as in the first trial in November 1999.
The Court of Special Appeals overturned the first conviction in October 2000 because the trial judge let a detective testify that part way through his interview with Logan, the defendant asked for a lawyer.
The county's chief prosecutor vowed to challenge yesterday's decision and to retry the case if appeal efforts failed.
"It is very close. We ought to get a ruling by more judges," said Frank R. Weathersbee, Anne Arundel state's attorney.
Logan and Addison, friends while growing up, had a falling out over a car that Logan argued he bought in 1997 but was in Addison's possession. Logan filed charges against Addison in 1998. The case was referred for mediation.
John Logan Jr. said yesterday that he would welcome a third trial for his son and, because he believes some witnesses lied in the earlier trials, hopes a retrial would be an opportunity to "let the truth be told."
Circumstances of the shooting - Logan shot Addison as the victim was in a taxi outside a grocery store - were at issue in both trials. Logan said he fired because Addison, who had beaten and threatened him before, was reaching for a gun.
Police did not find a gun at the scene. According to testimony, one of the victim's relatives took items, but no gun, from Addison's pockets before police arrived.
The majority opinion, by Judge Arrie W. Davis, faulted now-retired Judge Eugene M. Lerner for refusing a defense request for the jury instruction on being armed. Instead, Lerner told Logan's lawyer, Roland Walker, that he could make that argument to the jury.
But in his dissenting opinion, retired Judge James S. Getty wrote that the instruction refers to fearing immediate harm. With testimony that Addison and Logan threatened "to kill each other for nearly a year, both men could have strapped on a gun every day in case of a chance meeting," he wrote.
Copyright c 2002, The Baltimore Sun
Also see
Top Stories
Taylor project up for vote
Ex-Navy facility slated for office campus; $250 million project; Questions about finances of builders among worries
Anne Arundel Datebook
Business Notes
By keeping cool at Annapolis Mall, area walkers stay on fitness track
Council moves to appoint ethics panel members
Power to name officials lies solely with executive
http://sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.ar.logan03aug03.story?coll=bal-local-arundel
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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By A Sun Staff Writer
Originally published August 4, 2002
The Baltimore state's attorney's office has decided not to file charges against the owner of an automotive repair shop who fatally shot a man who allegedly was trying to rob him.
Prosecutor Donald Giblin said the shooting Friday evening at the Subway Service Center, also known as Joe's Garage, in the 4200 block of Wabash Ave. appeared to be in self-defense.
"This is a guy who had a permit for the gun, was in his own business establishment, and relayed to the officers the man was armed with a knife and was lunging at him," Giblin said.
The prosecutor added that the investigation is continuing and that the owner, whose name was not released by police, could be charged if evidence arises to show he committed a crime.
Police yesterday identified the man who was killed as Ernest Trammell, 44, of the 2500 block of Madison Ave.
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.shooting04aug04.story
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Copyright c 2002 AP Online
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The Associated Press
DALLAS (August 4, 2002 10:52 p.m. EDT) - Five people, including three children, were shot to death Sunday night at a Dallas residence, police said. One woman was also hospitalized.
Police said they took a man into custody for questioning and recovered a semiautomatic handgun.
Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW reported that the children were between the ages of 1 and 15. A man and woman were also among the dead.
"I've talked to some of the neighbors that live out here who heard the shots. They said it was like a string of fireworks going off," Dallas police Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick said. "It was repeated one shot after another, a slight pause, then multiple shots again."
No additional information was immediately available.
http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/488821p-3900480c.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Police: Suspects set trap at vacant Detroit house
August 3, 2002
BY BEN SCHMITT AND RICHARD WALKER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Frank Williams was new on the job, still learning the streets and finishing a shift at Happy's Pizza when he went on one last delivery run just after midnight Friday.
With two medium pizzas, Williams headed to 12713 Greenlawn, just south of I-96 on Detroit's west side and not far from the pizzeria. Police say the 44-year-old man was ambushed at the vacant house by four or five men, who shot and killed him at 12:30 a.m. He is the second Happy's Pizza delivery driver to be killed in less than two weeks.
"We're taking it pretty hard, because he was a very nice guy and a hard worker," said Zaid Mikhail, a manager at the Happy's Pizza on Plymouth Road where Williams worked. Williams started the job only about three weeks ago, traveling 15 miles from his east-side Detroit home to get to work nightly.
On July 23, Leonard O'Neal, who delivered for a Happy's Pizza on West 7 Mile, was shot and killed after an ambush robbery at the nearby Greenview Apartments. Two suspects are in custody and a third is being sought in his death.
Police said they do not believe the killings are related, but that gave little comfort Friday to owners and employees of other pizza outlets.
"I'm always concerned when I send a driver out, hoping that they make it back," said George Matti, who owns a Papa Romano's Pizza on West 7 Mile at Livernois in Detroit. "That's my biggest worry. There's not much we can do except not sending the drivers out with a lot of money."
Domino's Pizza spokeswoman Holly Ryan said the giant chain monitors crimes against all drivers and reviews crime statistics to determine the safety of neighborhoods.
"We don't deliver to some areas where crime statistics indicate a problem. In some instances, we'll deliver only until dark, or only to the curb," Ryan said.
Like many pizza outlets, Domino's has procedures to try to protect employees, she said. "The stores have caller ID, drivers carry less than $20, and we have training programs that teach our drivers what to look out for," Ryan said.
Mikhail said he tells all his drivers not to carry a lot of money and sends them out at the beginning of a shift with only $20 to make change.
Alan Schmitz, manager of Bob's Pizza Palace, also on West 7 Mile in Detroit, said he was very concerned about the killings.
"We double-check all our orders and do call-backs to make sure the orders are legitimate," he said. "Our drivers will continue to use their discretion. They have the option of returning with the pizza if they think the situation isn't right."
In Friday's case, police said the suspects managed to turn on the lights at the vacant house, phoned in a delivery order and waited for Williams.
Two pepperoni pizzas still lay on the front steps of the house, next to a shoe and near a puddle of blood on the sidewalk Friday afternoon.
Neighbors said they heard Williams plead for his life and then heard a gunshot. Williams died of a single wound to the head.
Two men were detained by police Friday and were questioned in connection with the slaying. One man, 18, lives across the street from the house, his uncle said.
"The family is in shock," said Attila Johnson, uncle of the possible suspect. "My nephew has never been in any serious trouble and has one year of high school to go."
Insp. Craig Schwartz of the Detroit Police homicide unit said police used a telephone number to trace the men, but declined to give further details of the investigation. Mikhail, who took the delivery call, said he believes the callers used a cell phone.
Mikhail said he waited until 1 a.m. Friday for Williams to return and, when he didn't, decided Williams drove home after the final delivery and would cash out in the morning, as drivers sometimes do.
The manager said he was unsure whether new policies would be implemented. He said deliveries would end early Friday night. Happy Asker, who owns five of the six Happy's stores, could not be reached for comment.
Neighbors on Williams' block on Mitchell Avenue described him as dedicated to the neighborhood and helpful with residents, fixing cars and doing odd jobs.
"This is so terrible," said Roxanne Adams, who lives across the street from Williams. "This guy was very polite, never bothered anyone. I'd see him going to work every day."
Pamela Howard was feeling a different kind of grief Friday. She owns the home where the fake delivery set-up and slaying occurred.
"I feel horrible. This is such a shame," she said.
Howard said tenants moved out of the home about two months ago. New people are supposed to move in later this month.
"This might scare them away," she said. "Whoever did this must have known that this house was vacant, and that's pretty scary."
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/pizza3_20020803.htmContact BEN SCHMITT at 313-222-6597 or schmitt@freepress.com.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
AP
Friday, August 02, 2002
By Michael Y. Park
NEW YORK - Earlier this week, a man in Florida made headlines after it was reported authorities believed he was responsible for downloading bomb-making instructions from a local library.
The man, 45-year-old British citizen Nigel Berkeley Gates, was actually being held on immigration violations. But whatever his fate, the stories about him didn't report this simple fact: Getting step-by-step instructions on making your own bomb via the Internet is as easy as ordering a pair of pants.
In fact, there are a number of Web sites that offer anyone interested a wealth of practical information about creating explosives to damage property, or explosives to kill and maim people.
Just an hour spent on a popular Internet search engine turned up more than half a dozen sites that offered complete manuals on manufacturing mayhem, from a simple, relatively harmless paint bomb to shaped plastic explosives and primitive rocket launchers.
The granddaddy of bomb-making manuals is the "Anarchists' Cookbook," first published in 1971 and spread throughout the world in various incarnations via mail-order catalogs, in passed-along Xeroxes and now the Internet. As the most well-known of the bomb handbooks, it's perhaps the hardest to find on the Web, with links quickly severed by server hosts.
But, like a toxic mushroom, it pops up again and again -- in one case on a French-Swiss-related site and on an anarchy site.
A virtual how-to encyclopedia of anti-social behavior, the latest version of the Cookbook explains, among other things, how to counterfeit money, make yourself a new identity, get cash from ATMs, manufacture LSD, and make silencers, letter bombs, thermite bombs and other deadly weapons.
The "Terrorist Handbook," on the other hand, focuses almost entirely on explosives. Written in strangely hypothetical language, the handbook's author, who describes himself as an engineering student at an East Coast university, gives detailed instructions on how to procure the ingredients for explosives (including a list of suppliers), how to shape explosives and make pipe cannons, crude firearms, TNT and the powerful explosive RDX.
He also explains the best way to make lightbulb bombs, book bombs and phone bombs -- noting dispassionately the last bomb will likely detonate next to the target's ear.
A third bomb-making guide, the "Big Book of Mischief," discusses the merits of using model-rocket powder versus flash powder and describes, along with the usual instructions for high-order explosives, crude firearms and pipebombs.
And that's not it. There are instructions on the Web for making everything from low-power battery bombs to nuclear explosives, offering various levels of bang for your buck.
The Internet, it seems, is a virtual minefield.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,59480,00.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878