PD Investigator Helps In Dismissal

Okay, I know this happens all the time...Public Defender Investigator's doing their job and getting a case dismissed but it doesn't always make it to the newspaper or any media for that matter. Most of the time, we don't even get credit for the fantastic work we do, which isn't what we do this job for but sometimes it's nice to be recognized.

So today, I Sancho, recognize:

STILL UNNAMED PUBLIC DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR FROM THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE

Here are a few snippets from the article which you can read here:

MIDDLESEX COUNTY - Frederick Kinley, the man accused of causing the death of a teacher during a 2005 brawl in New Brunswick, walked out of the Middlesex County courthouse a free man yesterday after the witness who identified him in a police photo lineup said he was mistaken.

...Kinley, who was represented by Allison Tucker and Alison Accettola of the Public Defender's Office, was facing 10 to 30 years in prison. He had spent about eight months in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center awaiting trial before being released on bail earlier this year. Judge Bradley Ferencz dismissed the charge at the request of Assistant Prosecutor Louis Latimer just before jury selection was to begin for Kinley's trial.

...Latimer said he learned about a week ago that the witness, Terrence Brown of Franklin, changed his story when he spoke last month with an investigator from the Public Defender's Office and said Kinley was not the man he saw punch Winfield.

Of course we should also give props to the DA, who for some reason did not make sure that their STAR WITNESS had ID'd the alleged perp correctly...better late than never I guess. I don't mind doing the DA's investigation, especially when a dismissal is the result.

I am by no means making light of the death of the gym teacher (Mr. Scott Winfield) and I do hope they find his killer and prosecute him. I'm pro fairness in justice not pro-crime.

Public Defenders Shagging Juvenile Clients

***Note: Yes, I was inspired to post this by Blondie's recent story on a 3 year-old picking up on her just to get a Big Mac.***

I guess there are some Public Defenders (Jennifer Krieger-Hughes) out there that don't mind a romp in the hay with a juvenile client. Aside from the fact that the victim was a juvenile and the fact that he tried to kill her when he was freed from Juvenile detention, it's very romantic. I give it 8 months before it's a made for television pelicula.

If you want to read more details on the case, you can read the summary of the Disciplinary Hearing at the Akron Bar Association website (it's at the bottom, the last story on the page) but I'll highlight the meat and potatoes:

Krieger entered into a stipulation of facts admitting that shefirst met Brad Willoughby in 2001, when he was a 16-year-old defendant in juvenile court and she was an attorney in the Dayton Public Defender’s office assigned to represent him in several different proceedings. From September 2002 until April 2003, Willoughby was in the custody of the Ohio Department of Youth Services as a result of repeated juvenile convictions including felonious assault, receiving stolen property and probation violations.

Krieger, who had stayed in touch with Willoughby during his months in state custody,
socialized with him after he was released. After his 18th birthday in June 2003, Krieger co-signed on a six-month lease and provided money to help Willoughby obtain and furnish an apartment and also gave him money for groceries and other living expenses over the following several months. She also paid a total of $2,300 for three older-model cars that Willoughby drove between June 2003 and February 2004. During the 10-month period she was providing this financial support for Willoughby,

Krieger served as his private attorney in three traffic offenses, a marijuana possession charge and a probation violation. During that same period, the two began a sexual relationship that continued until February 2004. In December 2003, Krieger’s supervisor at the public defender’s office confronted her about her professional, financial and rumored personal involvement with Willoughby, who at the time was a client of the public defender on a petty theft charge. Krieger did not directly deny a
romantic/sexual relationship with Willoughby, but made misleading statements suggesting that no such relationship existed.

In January 2004 the public defender reprimanded Krieger for her extensive and improper financial expenditures on behalf of Willoughby, including posting his bond in a case where he was represented by the public defender’s office. The supervisor prohibited Krieger from any future private representation of Willoughby while she remained on the public defender’s staff, and ordered that she be reassigned from the office’s juvenile court unit to adult court as soon as that could be arranged.

On Feb. 10, 2004, Krieger filed a police report stating that Willoughby had come to her home, spent the night and then attempted to murder her after the two argued over their relationship, another woman and Willoughby’s cocaine use. Two days later Krieger was placed on administrative leave by the public defender. She resigned from her position later the same day. Willoughby was subsequently acquitted of attempted murder and kidnapping charges arising from the incident, but was sentenced to 14 months in prison for misdemeanor assault, drug abuse and violation of a protective order.

Tragedy Strikes Fellow PD Investigator

"Every day I say, 'Oh God, how am I going to do this?'"

Tammy Belfield, an investigator with the Jefferson County Public Defender's Office in Kentucky Missouri, lost her husband Jimmy, in a work related accident last month. You can read a little bit about Tammy, Jimmy, and her family here.

I know that death gives meaning to all of our lives but sometimes I still wonder what the point of it all really is.

(Story and photo from the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH)

Biting The Bullet

I am at a crossroads in my work life.

I've always prided myself on being a People Person. I think this is one of the characteristics that make me a decent investigator. Being good with people is what can get an investigator through the front door, meaning that although you could be fantastic at locating a witness that doesn't want to be found, and you could be the best interviewer in the world…it all doesn't matter if you can't cold call someone at home and get them to talk to you.

The question I have is this, How often will being a People Person help me in getting out of a serious jam in the field before something bad happens?

I think we've all been in hairy situations at some point, whether it involves an extremely unfriendly witness or being in a house where there is some serious shit going on.

Most of the time I would just say, talk your way out until you are forced to run, but I had a situation that arose about a week ago in the field where I went cold into a house and after I sat down to talk with a witness, I realized there were people in a back room whispering to one another.

Note: I had heard from neighbors that this house was a drug house and I expected people to be wary of anyone who looked like they were from some county agency so I tried to be careful and the first thing I said was Public Defender!, after I knocked and someone screamed, Who the fuck are you?, through a metal security gate.

They called my witness into the room (yelled at her without coming out) and she disappeared into the room, slamming the door closed behind her. I could not hear everything that they were saying, but I could tell they were pissed at her for letting me inside. I could hear her say the words Defender and It's fine, but then I clearly heard a male voice say (through what sounded like clenched teeth), Tell him to get the fuck out!

Crap.

My witness came out crying followed by two guys, one with a silver revolver with a wooden grip in his waistband, and the other with both his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. They stood in front of the door (yeah, my only way out) and said that my witness had nothing more to say and it was time for me to leave.

Of course I didn't argue. I left a card on the couch and told my witness to call me if she remembered anything more (she did), and walked towards the door where the dude with the gun was still standing. He didn’t move out of the way until I walked up to him and reached past him for the door. He never said another fucking thing to me.

The problem I'm having now is this: Do I bite the bullet and invest in the training to carry a gun on the job?

I know a lot of investigators are 100% against carrying weapons or anything that would make people think you're law enforcement, but I'm beginning to think that I can only run away and throw my pen and clipboard at someone a few times before it backfires on me (for the record, I have used my pen to push someone away from me who was getting up in my face).

I don't know, I haven't really made a decision yet, and I'm curious about what everyone's thoughts are on the subject.

The Hammer Lives!

***NON-PDI INVESTIGATOR RELATED MATERIAL TO FOLLOW***

There are some that are going to read this and wonder, Who in the hell is this MC Hammer that this moron is talking about? Why would he bother to mention him in his blog?

I'm not going to go into too much Hammer history, although you can read all about him here.

The reason I'm bringing him up is that he HAS A BLOG! Yeah, it amatuerish like mine but it's cool just the same.

His most recent post, Deep Clouds: What Do U Think The Clouds Are Saying? has me a little concerned for his mental health, but it's entertaining and dare I say? Good Stuff!

I'm sorry, I'm just giddy in knowing that The Hammer Lives!

My Favorite Cheerleader Cops A Deal!

The heart wrenching story of the crazy cheerleading duo from the Carolina Panthers is now...over.

Read it and weep boys, read it and weep.

(Photo and Story from The Smoking Gun)

HURRY!

Last Friday I get request from one of our Felony Attorney's for a RUSH INVESTIGATION! Notice how it's all in capital letters? Yeah, I did it that way because I first received notice that he had a request when I was in the courthouse talking to a witness on another case that I happened to run into. He decided it was a good idea to yell it out to me through the hallways.
This took place about 3:25pm.

3:35pm - I'm up in Mr. Hurry's office listening to his RUSH INVESTIGATION REQUEST. We have an assault case in which our alibi witness has turned up missing. We need to locate this witness by Monday (yup, today), interview her, and subpoena her for the prelim on Monday.

3:50pm - I'm back up in my office getting my shit together, having run a few databases for this witness and printing out a blank subpoena for me to fill out later.

4:00pm - I took off for a planned event I was supposed to be at.

7:00pm - Left planned event after having been manhandled by a sweet lady who swore that she knew me.

8:45pm - Late dinner and drinks with friends.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

1:30am - Sleepy time.

9:00am - Go to the Gym to work off the beer from the night before, then fuck around for a good portion of the day.

5:30pm-8:45pm - I worked the phones and my computer to locate our great witness. I track her down and guess what! She lives very close to me! This is going to be easier than I thought.

8:50pm - I call witness and apologize for the late phone call and explain the situation. I arrange a meeting with her at a cafe very near house the next day.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

8:45am - I get to the cafe a bit early, for some reason I like to be early to things like this. I know what my witness looks like (an attractive teacher), and I don't see her around. No problem, I'm early, I'll wait.

9:30am - Still no teacher and my calls to her home go unanswered. I toss my paper in the recycle bin and head to her house.

9:40am - No sign of the teacher at the house. I canvas the neighbors and find that her car has been gone all morning.

10:05am - Fuck.

10:06am - A neighbor walking his dog, comes up to me in my car writing some notes down and I tell her that I'm looking for the teacher. Most days, if someone comes up to me in my car and asks, "Can I help you?" I usually just tell them, "no," and roll my window back up. I was in a desperate mood though. The neighbor tells me that she is probably at her boyfriends house. Her boyfriend is a cop. "Thank you!" This is getting better and better.

11:30am - I have found the cop boyfriends address and nobody is home. I decide to stop by later after lunch. What? I'm starving!

3:00pm - I go back to the cops house and his car is their right next to his girlfriends. FYI - Cops hate it when you go to their homes for ANYTHING! They'll ask you how you found their house, tell you it's illegal to make contact with them at home, the crap they spew goes on forever. I tell him his girlfriend is a witness in a felony criminal case and he shuts the door on me.

3:05pm - I go out to my car, move it in front of their cars in the driveway and turn on the heater because it's friggin cold! Who knows how long I'll have to wait out here.

3:20pm - Two cruisers pull up behind me and an old crusty looking cop (turns out he is a supervisor) gets out and walks over to my car. I have cold plates which I know he has run through his computer so he knows I'm with some county agency. He asks me what's going on and I tell him I have a subpoena to serve on a witness in the house that his officer his hiding. He asks me how I know she is inside and I tell him that her car is one of the cars that I'm blocking. He laughs and walks up to Officer Friendly who is now standing in his doorway with a stupid smirk on his face.

3:33pm - Officer Friendly's smirk is wiped off his face by his supervising officer. I see Officer Friendly disappear and the Hot Teacher comes outside in some cute pajamas.

3:35pm - Hot Teacher tells me she won't talk to me but takes the subpoena from my hand and says she'll be in court today.

4:00pm - I'm back home and I call the attorney on his phone to tell him the witness is subbed although I wasn't able to talk to her. I feel pretty good about the whole thing.

Monday, March 13, 2006

8:00am - I get to work and there is my Hot Teacher. NOW she talks to me. Says what I want to hear and I call the attorney at his office to pass on the info.

8:30am - In the middle of my quick report, I get a phone call from the attorney which doesn't last longer than a minute, I hang up.

8:45am - I find my Hot Teacher and tell her that the prelim that was scheduled today was ACTUALLY scheduled for NEXT Monday. She is pissed.

Currently - I'm very irritated but have high hopes that the day will end better than it started. For any future public defenders or those that are currently practicing law...Please for the love of Gawd LOOK AT YOUR CALENDARS BEFORE SENDING RUSH REQUESTS!

Hmmm, I think I feel better now.

Little Bit Smokey

I've been on quite a rush these past few weeks. I've had 4 trials and four not guilty verdicts...in all of them. It doesn't happen very often but sometimes...the good guys really do win.

Two of the wins were heavy, Felony cases, one case was a lame misdo that never should have been filed, and the last one was a juvenile trial which started and ended today...Thankfully!

99.9% of the credit is due to my attorney's but I like to take the remaining .10%. It's been an assload of never ending subpoenas and interviews but I made it through the last two weeks of hell with only a few papercuts to show for it. Not too bad.

To top it all off, we have new attorney's working in my office (just new to my division) and it's going to take some getting used to them. I'm still convinced that one of the misdo attorney's is the spawn of Satan, with her investigation requests to determine why the sky is blue and why the sun rises in the East. Go figure.

Oh, and even though I'm still swamped outta my mind with new requests, I was called by the attorney who picked up a murder case my office conflicted off of last year and it looks I might have to testify to some photographs I took. I liked the client, so I guess it's not that bad and it helps that the attorney is one of the better looking, private panel attorney's in the county.

Yup, always thinking with the wrong head.

I went to interview a witness to a felony elder abuse case today. As I knocked on her door, I could smell that she had her fireplace burning. Thank gawd, because today has GOT to be the coldest fucking day in California history! I think we may have hit 40 degrees Fahrenheit!

Or something crazy like that. Anyhoot, where was I?

Ms. Smokey answered the door, I gave her my investigative spiel, acted charming, smiled a lot, and she thankfully invited me inside...out of the cold.

Aaaaaaa...sweet warmth! I sat down on the couch while she finished a phone call, then came back into the living room, sitting down next to me. We talked for a couple of minutes before I noticed that besides being very comfortable, her house smelled a bit smokey.

We talked a bit more and I noticed that her fireplace was starting to kick smoke back into the house....lot's of it. Ms. Smokey just kept talking like nothing was happening and I tried to listen to her.

Jeezus my eyes are getting watery. This can't be good. Does she NOT notice that her living room is filling with smoke? Let me try and stop her for a second...

Ms. Smokey keeps talking and doesn't let me interrupt her. She ignores my obvious glances at her fireplace.

Sweet mary....does this lady not notice that we can barely see eachother other? What does MS. Smokey do? She keeps talking of course! Excu...BLAH BLAH BLAH...Exuse me...BLAH BLAH BLIP BLAH...Ms. Smokey? BLAH BLACH BLAH BLAH BLOO BLA...Ms. Smokey!!!

She stops talking. Looks at me with obviously watery eyes and says, It's getting smokey in here isn't it?

I answer, Just a little bit, It's just a little bit smokey. If we lived in a chimney it would be perfectly natural though.

She didn't think it was funny.

Green Horse Nuggets

When I was just a kid living at home with my parents I had a real thing for anything Star Wars related. I was in elementary school when The Empire Strikes Back was released and I would work jobs on weekends to save up money for Star Wars Action Figures (not to be confused with my sister's Dolls).

My jobs were varied, I would help my dad landscaping yards, and a few times I helped my mom when she would do weekend housecleaning, a lady a few miles away from my home had some horses that I would feed every evening and then free up their stalls of all the disgusting green horse nuggets they were always leaving around.

The woman who owned the horses (Horse Lady), also owned a hair salon in town, where I would always have my haircut. Most of the time my haircuts from Horse Lady were horrible, but my mom liked her and she would always give us a small discount. I credit Horse Lady for creating in me a desire and attraction for older women, which I'm still trying to get over...where was I going with this?

Back to Star Wars action figures.

One day, after I flew home for my Grandfather's funeral in January, I found my mom cleaning the house, getting it ready for my Grandmother (who is now living with them). She put some crap in a box and asked me to go through it and see if there was anything I wanted. I was full of all my old toys! I was so excited to see all these toys that I hadn't seen in 20 years!

Unfortunately, I had flown in and there was no way I could take it all back home with me. Luckily my Dad has a large garage, so I sealed the Box of crap (as my Mom called it) and snuck it into the garage, where it still sits (according to my brother). Before I sealed the box, I took one toy and brought it home with me. I would have also brought back my Obi Wan Kenobi figurine, that was given to me by this girl I had a crush on named Angie. Angie was good that way. Too bad Kenobi's head fell off in the box of crap, and I couldn't find it.

Here is who I brought home:

Chewbacca was always one of my favorite characters. Don't ask me why. Well, also don't ask me why he is also peppered full of holes. I'll just say that when I played war with my friend's, we used air rifles as weapons and each other's Star Wars action figures as our armies. I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed...what can I say?

It's kind of neat to look at him now and remember my younger days. Sometimes with all the crap we see everyday in this job, I find that thinking about my days as a kid is a good escape for me. The question I have is, how often is too often to think about the good ole days?

Still Here

Contrary to popular belief, I have not died and fallen off the face of the planet. I know I mention it every other post but this week was just horrendously busy at work and I barely had time to breathe. Actually, I brought a bunch or work home which I promised myself I wouldn't touch until Sunday night, if at all.

I think the week was made harder with some clients that have some really tough cases, a murder case I picked up last year is really starting to roll on the investigation side of things and it has me stressing out a bit. The client is not a typical client that we have and his family has just been torn apart by the case.

I sometimes forget that the reason I started this blog was to release some of my day to day stress. Today, I will head to the gym and pound some stress out on the elliptical machine and possibly the stupid treadmill.

Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. More later.