; see generally Robert L. Miller Jr., Courtroom Handbook on Indiana Evidence 61 (1998 ed.). DICKSON, SULLIVAN and SELBY, JJ., concur. It is always difficult saying goodbye to someone we love and cherish. Even if all the evidence related to the Crandall murder and Thompson's trial in Henry County were relevant and of probative value here, this evidence would not clear the balancing hurdle of Evidence Rule 403. He didn't stomp on him; he didn't take a shotgun and nearly blow his head off. Rule 404(b) is on the books because evidence of prior crimes is presumptively prejudicial. He claimed this was sufficiently proved by the undisputed evidence that the murder weapon was found when Percy and Thompson were stopped by Illinois state police three months after Hillis and Beeler were killed. In June 1991, defendant Jerry Thompson and Douglas Percy were driving through Illinois and were stopped for a traffic violation. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. The fact of a shotgun wound could perhaps have been established by a police officer or otherwise without getting into whether it was fatal. He contends that a drumbeat of prejudicial and irrelevant evidence related to Crandall's killing induced the jury to draw the forbidden inference, at the core of Rule 404(b), that Thompson killed once, so must have done so again. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. Jerry Don Thompson (born November 21, 1942) is Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. The State responded that his testimony was admissible under Evidence Rule 801(d)(1)(B) as a prior consistent statement to rebut Thompson's recent charge of improper motive. The State lauded Percy in its closing argument as the man who helped solve both the Indianapolis killings at issue here and Crandall's murder a month earlier: [I]n the process of telling the Police Department and other Law Enforcement authorities those things that he knew, [Percy] solved 3 murders. The well established rationale behind Evidence Rule 404(b) is that the jury is precluded from making the forbidden inference that the defendant had a criminal propensity and therefore engaged in the charged conduct. The jury therefore knew from the outset that Thompson had been a killer and a thief in the past. 1993) (in prosecution for child molesting, "[t]estimony regarding the previous [child molesting] conviction and details of the previous molestation were obviously highly prejudicial") (citation and footnote omitted); United States v. Cox, 536 F.2d 65, 72 (5th Cir. Thompson retrieved a pillow from another room, placed it over Crandall's head, and fired. Their license was verified as active when we last checked. Lannan v. State, 600 N.E.2d 1334 (Ind.1992). 1995) (evidence as to defendant's four prior, convictions for dealing in cocaine should not have been admitted in prosecution for cocaine possession), trans. This occurred with the apparent assent of all counsel. And, he took Wesley Crandall's money that was there, and the marihuana. Percy did not assert his knowledge of that fact or whether Crandall died from the shot. at 367, 417 N.E.2d at 906. Lockhart v. Nelson, 488 U.S. 33, 109 S.Ct. Jerry Thompson - Facebook The allegedly corroborative evidence here was irrelevant. . Without that knowledge it is impossible to conclude what, if any, "validation" of Percy the conviction represents. Indeed, our decisions have cautioned that evidence of prior misconduct offered to bolster a key witness's testimony as to the current charge, although often probative on that point, is also quite prejudicial. Ind.Code 35-50-2-9(b)(1) (Supp.1990). Id. Join Facebook to connect with Jerry Thompson and others you may know. Even oblique or apparently innocuous references to prior convictions are impermissible. 1990) (citing Brewer). The State all but urged the jury to make the forbidden inference. Thompson retrieved a pillow from another room, placed it over Crandall's head, and fired. On February 14, 1991, one month before the murders in this case, Wesley Crandall Jr. was shot to death in his home in New Castle, Indiana. A few months earlier, Percy had been charged with altering a vehicle identification number, a felony. The rules of evidence require courts to guard against exploitation of those details. THOMPSON, Douglas "Doug" Jerry - Santa Barbara News-Press Conviction there could have been based on forensic or other evidence wholly independent of Percy's testimony. Without that knowledge it is impossible to conclude what, if any, validation of Percy the conviction represents. The defense asked jurors to think about what somebody's got to gain when they testify. See, e.g., Watson v. State, 540 N.E.2d 598 (Ind.1989) (testimony concerning prior robbery was admissible in murder trial because the defendant had stolen the same type of pistol used to kill the victim); United States v. Day, 591 F.2d 861 (D.C.Cir.1978) (evidence of prior robbery was properly allowed where the murder weapon was taken during the robbery and was later found in the house where the defendant was arrested).9 The issue, however, is whether that discretion was abused in the quantity and quality of the evidence admitted to corroborate Percy's testimony on this collateral point. Such evidence is highly prejudicial. Loveless v. State, 240 Ind. 534, 539, 166 N.E.2d 864, 866 (1960) (in prosecution for burglary, erroneous admission of defendant's alleged involvement in prior burglaries required new trial). In this review, we do not reweigh evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. Because a conviction in a capital case may be based upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice, Lowery v. State, 547 N.E.2d 1046, 1053 (Ind.1989) (citation omitted), the Double Jeopardy Clause does not preclude a retrial. Even if all the evidence related to the Crandall murder and Thompson's trial in Henry County were relevant and of probative value here, this evidence would not clear the balancing hurdle of Evidence Rule 403. The State maintained that it understood the pretrial ruling on Rule 404(b) to allow evidence of the conviction itself, and that it relied on this interpretation in referring to the conviction in opening arguments. While we have reversed on the basis of evidence improperly admitted during the State's case in chief, it might turn out that discrete pieces of this evidence would be admissible as rebuttal. Jerry K. THOMPSON, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below). . People at Inforver; . We first examine what went on in the trial court. The identity exception to the general prohibition on propensity evidence is crafted primarily for signature crimes with a common modus operandi. Illinois state police recovered a nine-millimeter handgun from the vehicle that ballistics tests later determined was the weapon used to kill Hillis and Beeler. Thompson v. State :: 1996 :: Supreme Court of Indiana Decisions View the profiles of people named Jerry Thompson Thompson. Brewer v. State, 275 Ind. Not every aggravator needs to be kept from the jury. Percy was the only witness conclusively placing Thompson at the scene. Genealogy record of %1. Join Facebook to connect with Jerry Thompson Thompson and others you may know. On a prearranged signal, Percy gave the gun to Thompson, who knocked Crandall down and stated that he thought he had broken Crandall's neck. 1983, trial court committed reversible error by informing jury sua sponte during voir dire of inmate's prior convictions for rape and sexual assault). The State's closing argument was replete with references to the Crandall murder, to the extent that an uninformed reader would assume that Thompson was being tried for the Crandall murder in this case. In any event, the jury in this case did not and could not know all of the record in the Crandall trial. I. In the end, an impermissible flood of damaging propensity evidence washed away Thompson's right to a fair trial. Jerry K. Thompson was convicted of two counts of murder,1 two counts of robbery,2 and one count of carrying a handgun without a license.3 The trial court sentenced Thompson to death for the murders and imposed a term of years for the other convictions. Far more importantly what somebody has to lose. See, e.g., Taylor v. State, 659 N.E.2d 535, 542-43 (Ind. Lannan, 600 N.E.2d at 1338. Pay particular attention to Mr. Percy [W]hen you retire to that Jury Room after evaluating the credibility of Mr. Percy, listening to all the Evidence, you're going to have doubts., When Percy began to testify about the events surrounding the Crandall murder, the defense objected and renewed its contention that this evidence was irrelevant and inadmissible under Rule 404(b). The State's contention that the extra details of the Crandall murder helped prove identity is unpersuasive. Whether it was necessary to show that Thompson shot Crandall is a closer question, but we need not decide that point because the other material admitted clearly went beyond the pale and requires reversal. Wooden v. State, 657 N.E.2d 109, 111 (Ind.1995). The trial court began the voir dire, before any questioning had occurred, by reading both the charging information and the death penalty information to all prospective jurors. In any event, as explained in Part III infra, Featheringill's testimony was not relevant to the material fact of Thompson's access to the murder weapon and therefore should not have been admitted. Bowen v. State, 680 N.E.2d 536, 540 (Ind. There is no shortage of decisions reversing convictions due to the erroneous admission of the defendant's prior criminal history, specifically prior convictions. Without stating the basis for its ruling, the trial court allowed Featheringill's testimony. But, the acts that [Thompson] committed up there, as they related to his case are proof of his guilt here; that's the whole reason you were able to hear it. 1993) (erroneous admission of propensity evidence was not harmless due to prosecutor's "steady drumbeat" of references to the defendant's prior criminal record, especially in closing arguments). The State did not refer at this stage, however, to the point for which evidence of the Crandall murder was originally held to be admissible-to show that Thompson had access to the murder weapon before the crimes. The defense argued that the court's pretrial ruling permitted evidence that the gun allegedly used to kill Hillis and Beeler had been taken from Crandall when he was killed, and nothing more. On February 14th, 1991, Wesley Crandall, Junior, was murdered in his home in New Castle. Because we conclude that the extensive evidence of the prior crime was inadmissible under Indiana Evidence Rules 402, 403, and 404(b), and denied Thompson a fair trial, we reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial. If the extraneous details of the killing were inadmissible in Ostrowsky-a case involving car theft-the prejudice to Thompson in a second murder prosecution is an a fortiori case. These authorities, e.g., Maldonado v. State, 265 Ind. Thompson argues that the trial court erred in admitting the testimony of Columbus, Indiana gun dealer Velma Brown. Accordingly, over Thompson's objection, an officer with the New Castle Police Department was allowed to testify that he attended Thompson's trial in Henry County for Crandall's murder, thirty to forty witnesses were called (including Percy), and that the jury convicted Thompson. 338, 367-68, 417 N.E.2d 889, 905-06 (1981); Evans v. State, 563 N.E.2d 1251, 1259 (Ind. On February 14, 1991, he and Thompson went to Crandall's house to buy marijuana. First, this does not remove the stain of admitting the conviction into evidence in view of the instruction that the jury is to consider only evidence in reaching its verdict, and not the charging information. Their BuildZoom score of 92 ranks in the top 32% of 55,949 Colorado licensed contractors. Percy is much taller then any student at Doug's school. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the . In closing, the State described the undoing of the apparently wrongful conviction of the two men as the beginning of a "circle of justice" that could be closed if the jury returned with a conviction in this case. In rebuttal, the State replied that the events surrounding the Crandall murder were relevant: The reason it's relevant is because it proves [Thompson's] identity. Instead what happened, was Jerry Thompson took his shotgun and he blew part of Wesley Crandall's head off, and killed him. Sixty people were indicted in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to bring heroin from Chicago and Atlanta and sell it throughout Greater Cleveland, law enforcement officials announced . Accordingly, even where the defendant's involvement in a prior murder is relevant in part, the circumstances of the killing should not be presented unless they too are relevant. Ostrowsky, 501 F.2d at 324. Lannan v. State, 600 N.E.2d 1334 (Ind. . While we have reversed on the basis of evidence improperly admitted during the State's case in chief, it might turn out that discrete pieces of this evidence would be admissible as rebuttal. As Percy waited nearby in the living room, Thompson and Crandall spoke in the kitchen. The issue is whether evidence beyond that appropriate to establish access to the gun was admitted and, if so, whether it was harmless error. Whether it was necessary to show that Thompson shot Crandall is a closer question, but we need not decide that point because the other material admitted clearly went beyond the pale and requires reversal. The exception's rationale is that the crimes, or means used to commit them, were so similar and unique that it is highly probable that the same person committed all of them. There is nothing in the record indicating on what basis it was admitted into evidence over Thompson's objection. View the profiles of people named Percy Thompson. Before the trial in this case, Thompson was tried and convicted in Henry County of murdering Crandall. Id. doug percy jerry thompson - edrobd.org According to Percy, on the day of the killings, he and Thompson went to Hillis Auto Sales where, without any forewarning, Thompson shot both victims and Thompson and Percy robbed them. What does Mr. Percy have to lose? Two witnesses -- the forensic pathologist and Percy's friend Mike Featheringill -- testified to how Crandall died. In March 1992, Percy approached Indianapolis police with what he claimed was information about Thompson's involvement in the killings. Once he got his hands on a gun, any target would do. As the Eighth Circuit put it in rejecting a Federal Evidence Rule 404(b) challenge: A jury is entitled to know the circumstances and background of a criminal charge. 13. Indeed, the State does not contend that these were signature crimes. The Seventh Circuit held that the fact that the possessor had been killed was admissible to prove his lack of consent to the transfer of possession and, therefore, that the car had been stolen from him. In the next few weeks, Thompson used Percy's garage to grind the serial numbers off the weapons taken from Crandall's residence. . The second best result is Jerry Lamar Thompson age 60s in Portland, OR in the Eliot neighborhood. United States v. Burke, 948 F.2d 23 (1st Cir.1991) (bootstrapping testimony related to extrinsic acts is admissible but only to the extent it is relevant to a material fact). Double Jeopardy Because reversal in this case is due to trial error in the admission of evidence, the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, See footnote 13 generally does not bar a retrial on the same crimes. 3 Friends and Jerry/Thomas | Scratchpad | Fandom In light of this disposition, it is unnecessary to. One thing was certain, by the time he reached manhood, Jerry Thompson was a savage killer. See, e.g., United States v. Currier, 821 F.2d 52 (1st Cir. Because the risk that the jury would draw the "forbidden inference" based on what happened in Henry County is undeniable, the probative value of the extra details of the Crandall murder was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. . On February 12, 1991, two days prior to the murder, Thompson instructed his girlfriend to purchase a twelve-gauge shotgun and ammunition. Accordingly, over Thompson's objection, an officer with the New Castle Police Department was allowed to testify that he attended Thompson's trial in Henry County for Crandall's murder, thirty to forty witnesses were called (including Percy), and that the jury convicted Thompson. Jerry as Percy Frank's Father as Toby Bart (from The Simpsons) as Duck Carl (from The Simpsons) as Donald Lenny (from The Simpsons) as Douglas Milhouse (from The Simpsons) as Oliver Nelson (from The Simpsons) as Diesel Skipper (from Skipper & Skeeto) as Skarloey Skeeto (from Skipper & Skeeto) as Rheneas Wesley Crandall was a small time marihuana dealer; they went there in a pick-up truck, and Jerry Thompson took his shotgun along. [W]hen you retire to that Jury Room after evaluating the credibility of Mr. Percy, listening to all the Evidence, you're going to have doubts." AT THE TIME, THOMPSON WAS ON DIRECT APPEAL FROM HIS DEATH SENTENCE FOLLOWING A RETRIAL IN MARION COUNTY. Citing several cases, the State nonetheless urges a more expansive view of the identity exception to include evidence of prior crimes in which an instrumentality used in the current crime was acquired. In brief, Percy testified that he and Thompson went to Crandall's house that day to purchase marijuana and that Thompson assaulted and shot Crandall.See footnote 6 Thompson then stole several of Crandall's guns, one of which Percy identified at trial as the same handgun recovered in the car search in Illinois in June. You can explore additional available newsletters here. Douglas Percy. First Female Commander of Marine One Fired After Assault Charge See, e.g., Swain v. State, 647 N.E.2d 23 (Ind.Ct.App.1995) (evidence as to defendant's four prior convictions for dealing in cocaine should not have been admitted in prosecution for cocaine possession), trans. Cf. The charging information, witness list, and verdict form from Henry County were admitted into evidence at that point. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. . The bag Thompson carried contained several guns and Percy's bag contained marijuana and shell casings. Conclusion The convictions and sentence are reversed. The propensity evidence in this case crossed that line by a wide margin. As Brewer held, there was no reversible error in informing the jury of that aggravator before the sentencing phase, even if reading any of the charged aggravators is neither necessary nor a desirable practice in capital cases. This cause is remanded for a new trial. He did not break 510, 130 pound Wesley Crandall's neck. He went to elementary school in Solvang and graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1976. As of July 1, 2006 Home Page| The State did not refer at this stage, however, to the point for which evidence of the Crandall murder was originally held to be admissible -- to show that Thompson had access to the murder weapon before the crimes. This occurred with the apparent assent of all counsel. for the killing of the man from whom this gun was taken." 1994) (in action against prison officials under 42 U.S.C. D. Closing arguments The State lauded Percy in its closing argument as the man who helped solve both the Indianapolis killings at issue here and Crandall's murder a month earlier: [I]n the process of telling the Police Department and other Law Enforcement. 1991) (distinguishing Ostrowsky and lauding trial court's "sanitized and tightly controlled" admission of evidence of prior murder and "vigilant efforts to minimize its prejudicial impact"). One of the defendants had killed the possessor of the car (who apparently had stolen the vehicle himself) before the car was driven from Indiana to Illinois. Jerry Thompson Profiles | Facebook Percy did not testify that Crandall was killed in his presence, only that he assumed Thompson shot him in the head. He then went to Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington. Id. On February 14, 1991, he and Thompson went to Crandall's house to buy marijuana. This Court has jurisdiction under Indiana Appellate Rule 4(A)(7). Even oblique or apparently innocuous references to prior convictions are impermissible. 2d 265 (1988). If there is one lesson to take from this case, it is that Thompson's questioning Percy's, credibility did not open a door through which all evidence related to the Crandall murder could automatically pass. Brewer noted that, as in habitual offender proceedings, the death penalty information must be pleaded on a separate page from the charging instrument to "shield [the defendant] from the hazard of having the knowledge of his prior criminal record prematurely imparted to the jury. The State's closing argument was replete with references to the Crandall murder, to the extent that an uninformed reader would assume that Thompson was being tried for the Crandall murder in this case. 5. This [is] the gun that came from there. Percy Femur | Doug Wiki | Fandom 1996) (internal quotation marks omitted). 1989) (citation omitted), the Double Jeopardy Clause does not preclude a retrial. at 368, 417 N.E.2d at 906. Douglas Percy. . Bowen v. State, 680 N.E.2d 536, 540 (Ind.1997) (improper comments about defendant's criminal background did not require reversal because evidence independently supported conviction for burglary); United States v. Burke, 948 F.2d 23, 28 (1st Cir.1991) (erroneous admission of extrinsic acts was harmless because there was strong properly admitted evidence of guilt and prosecutor did not embellish upon the incident). Because the risk that the jury would draw the forbidden inference based on what happened in Henry County is undeniable, the probative value of the extra details of the Crandall murder was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. In light of this disposition, it is unnecessary to reach the remaining claims of error.12. For example, in United States v. Ostrowsky, 501 F.2d 318 (7th Cir.1974), the defendants were charged with concealing a stolen car and moving it in interstate commerce. When Featheringill was asked about the events in New Castle, the defense objected on hearsay grounds. The defense responded that the State was limited by Rule 404(b) to the "least prejudicial" way of proving access to the murder weapon and that Thompson could not be retried for the Crandall murder. A friend of Percy's, Mike Featheringill, testified that Percy told him that [Percy] went over to this drug dealer's house, and they were going to purchase some marihuana, and Jerry shot the drug dealer with a shotgun, execution style.8 These witnesses actually added to Percy's account, rather than merely corroborating it, because Percy testified only that he assumed Thompson had shot Crandall in the head. In its effort to prove guilt, the State may not flood the courtroom with unnecessary and prejudicial details of prior criminal conduct merely because some of that evidence is relevant and admissible. See, e.g., Heavrin v. State, 675 N.E.2d 1075, 1083 (Ind. Rule 403 required exclusion More importantly, evidence of a prior conviction is as prejudicial as evidence can get, and requires a strong showing of probative value. Our cases have long admonished that "one crime cannot be proved in order to establish another distinct crime even though they be of the same kind. However, double jeopardy forbids a retrial -- even where the defendant requests it as here -- if the reviewing court concludes that the evidence is legally insufficient to support the conviction. There is no doubt that Percy's credibility was critical to the State's case. When shown the handgun allegedly used to kill Hillis and Beeler, Percy testified that it "looks like the 'one' [Thompson] always carried," and that it resembled "one of the guns" that was taken from Crandall's house. Join Facebook to connect with Percy Thompson and others you may know. As a result, the decision to admit evidence of Thompson's access to the gun, and the State's offer of corroborative evidence to support Percy's version of the events in New Castle, was within the trial court's discretion. What particular pa. You're all set! Thompson filed a motion in limine before trial objecting to the admission of any evidence related to Crandall's death, including the fact of Thompson's conviction for that murder. You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. Next, an evidentiary dispute arose over whether the court's pretrial ruling on, Thompson's motion in limine, allowing the State to introduce "evidence of the obtaining of the weapon," permitted the State to introduce the fact of Thompson's conviction for the Crandall murder. Instead what happened, was Jerry Thompson took his shotgun and he blew part of Wesley Crandall's head off, and killed him. Because we conclude that the extensive evidence of the prior crime was inadmissible under Indiana Evidence Rules 402, 403, and 404(b), and denied Thompson a fair trial, we reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial. About; Contact; Login; Search. Douglas (Doug) Jerry Thompson | Obituaries | syvnews.com Fox v. State, 497 N.E.2d 221, 224 (Ind.1986). The pathologist opined that Crandall died from a gunshot wound to the head. The details of the prior murder were irrelevant Because the State alleged that Thompson stole the murder weapon from Crandall and subsequently used it to kill Hillis and Beeler, the theft of the gun was relevant to this trial. Larry Sells Tells Of The Most Dangerous Man He Has Ever Prosecuted In The prosecutor's contention at trial that the Crandall jury verdict constituted validation of Percy is a stretch no court can make. On cross-examination, the defense did not directly challenge Percy's account of what happened in New Castle. Douglas (Doug) Jerry Thompson February 18, 2022. The convictions must be reversed because a "fair trial is required for every defendant, regardless of his apparent guilt or the magnitude of the crimes he may have committed." at 368, 417 N.E.2d at 906. Although the State conceded that Percy had some culpability in both crimes, Percy's role was distinguished from Thompson's: All of us know Doug Percy is not blameless in this, and at the very least, he assisted Jerry Thompson, after these horrible murders were committed. Percy did not see the location of the shot, but assumed that Thompson had shot Crandall in the head. In April 1991, Thompson destroyed all the guns taken from Crandall except the handgun, a second gun also admitted in evidence, and a ".22 derringer" that was sold to a third party. However, Thompson conceded in his second motion that the State was entitled to show that Thompson had access to or control over the weapon used to commit the murders of Hillis and Beeler. He claimed this was sufficiently proved by the undisputed evidence that the murder weapon was found when Percy and Thompson were stopped by Illinois state police three months after Hillis and Beeler were killed. As the defense's opening statement put it: Who does [the State] say was with Mr. Thompson in New Castle? Reading of Death Penalty Information in Voir Dire. And, as Evans put it, if the aggravating circumstances are "prior unrelated crimes . Jerry is related to Virginia Ann Thompson . 1996) (reversing conviction due to erroneous admission of propensity evidence) (internal quotation marks omitted), suggesting that because Thompson killed and robbed Crandall, he must have killed and robbed Hillis and Beeler too.
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