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. 10+ "Doug Percy" profiles | LinkedIn 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 . 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. Wooden v. State, 657 N.E.2d 109, 111 (Ind. The State's claim that any prejudice to Thompson was cured by a limiting instruction is unpersuasive. The State's fallback position, advanced at oral argument in this Court, is that all evidence related to the Crandall murder was properly admitted because Percy's credibility was under attack. This Court has jurisdiction under Indiana Appellate Rule 4(A)(7). Percy carried Thompson's sawed-off shotgun into the residence. . Sometime after that 2 retarded men were coerced into admitting that they killed Wesley Crandall, were convicted; they went to prison, and but, for Doug Percy coming forward, they would probably still be there. 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. Thompson v. State, 671 N.E.2d 1165 (Ind.1996). Access to the murder weapon, particularly where the evidence is circumstantial as in this case, is such a permissible purpose. For this reason, it has long been established that prospective jurors are not to know of prior convictions until the penalty phase. 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. Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 89 S.Ct. This cause is remanded for a new trial. When this mandate is observed, the conviction will not be disturbed. The defense responded that the conviction was: (1) "impermissible bolstering" of Percy; (2) irrelevant to proving what happened at Hillis Auto Sales on the day of the murders; and (3) too prejudicial to be outweighed by any probative value. A forensic pathologist who testified as to the causes of death of Hillis and Beeler was coincidentally the same doctor who performed Wesley Crandall's autopsy. Douglas E Percy from 10 Shuman Rd, Marblehead, MA 01945, age 61, Phone doug percy jerry thompson. The identity exception to the general prohibition on propensity evidence is crafted primarily for signature crimes with a common modus operandi. Thus it was error to inform jurors of Thompson's conviction of Crandall's murder prior to the penalty phase. Such evidence is highly prejudicial. Loveless v. State, 240 Ind. 5. Without explanation, the trial court ruled that the conviction was admissible. What particular pa. You're all set! 1989) (citation omitted), the Double Jeopardy Clause does not preclude a retrial. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. In the next few weeks, Thompson used Percy's garage to grind the serial numbers off the weapons taken from Crandall's residence. 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. Ostrowsky, 501 F.2d at 324. Although Thompson conceded that he was a passenger in the car in which the murder weapon was found three months after the killings, Thompson never offered to stipulate that he had access to the murder weapon before the crimes, or to the specific fact that he stole the weapon from Crandall in February 1991. Jerry Thompson in Portland, OR - Address & Phone Number - Whitepages The State all but urged the jury to make the forbidden inference. BOEHM, Justice. 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. . 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. Their BuildZoom score of 92 ranks in the top 32% of 55,949 Colorado licensed contractors. On March 14, 1991, Melvin Hillis and Robert Beeler were shot to death at Hillis Auto Sales in Indianapolis. Doug was born in San Jose, California on February 3, 1958. In June 1991, defendant Jerry Thompson and Douglas Percy were driving through Illinois and were stopped for a traffic violation. Their license was verified as active when we last checked. cuando tu pareja te miente frases virginia rockhounding map doug percy jerry thompson. Indeed, the State does not contend that these were signature crimes. 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. 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. 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. 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. The jury therefore knew from the outset that Thompson had been a killer and a thief in the past. Inexplicably, Featheringill was also permitted to relate, Percy's account of an "execution style" shooting.See footnote 10 The fact that Crandall was killed, and how that occurred, was potentially as prejudicial as any fact can be and had no bearing on whether Thompson stole the murder weapon from Crandall that day. And, he took Wesley Crandall's guns Mr. Thompson was ultimately convicted of the murder of Wesley Crandall in February of 1991. 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. He had no conscience about rape, child molestation, or thrashing a dozen men in a prison fight. Mr. Thompson was ultimately convicted of the murder of Wesley Crandall in February of 1991. Under these circumstances, the errors were not harmless.11 See Wickizer v. State, 626 N.E.2d 795, 800-01 (Ind.1993) (holding that improperly admitted evidence of prior acts was not harmless error where the State emphasized the disputed conduct in its opening and closing arguments); James v. State, 622 N.E.2d 1303, 1309-10 (Ind.Ct.App.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). 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. Conclusion The convictions and sentence are reversed. Percy Douglas Thompson was born circa 1889, to Henry Maxwell Thompson and Jannet Isabella Watson. See, e.g., Heavrin v. State, 675 N.E.2d 1075, 1083 (Ind.1996). Douglas Percy. 2d 1028 (1964) (per curiam) (conviction reversed because five jurors had been present when the defendant's conviction of a similar charge was announced in open court before the trial); Scott v. Lawrence, 36 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. He didn't leave witnesses. 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. Select this result to view Jerry Wayne Thompson's phone number, address, and more. 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. The jury's verdict reflects a decision to credit Percy's testimony that this Court, as an appellate tribunal, would ordinarily not question. Contact us. Sometime after that 2 retarded men were coerced into admitting that they killed Wesley Crandall, were convicted; they went to prison, and but, for Doug Percy coming forward, they would probably still be there. 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. Cf. The State emphasized the details of Crandall's killing from the beginning. 1991, and ballistics tests confirmed to be the weapon used to kill Hillis and Beeler. Ct. App. 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. 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. United States v. Smith, 80 F.3d 1188, 1193 (7th Cir.1996) (internal quotation marks omitted). 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. They are far from justifying irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence that has no relation to that point or to any other material fact in dispute. However, the jury's apparent decision to believe Percy may have turned on the wrongly admitted evidence. . Here, one of the aggravating circumstances charged in addition to the prior murder was that Thompson intentionally killed Hillis and Beeler while committing or attempting to commit a robbery. We first take up an issue not raised by the parties. Without that knowledge it is impossible to conclude what, if any, "validation" of Percy the conviction represents. 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. 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. The State then suggested that because the jury in the Crandall murder trial had apparently credited Percy's testimony, the same should be done here: "[Percy] was scrutinized in New Castle and in Henry County, by that Jury; and they returned a conviction . Related To Andrea Thompson, Eric Thompson, Lloyd Thompson, Amanda Thompson, Brandy Thompson. 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. 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. Without explanation, the trial court ruled that the conviction was admissible. That conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. Indeed, the prohibition on use of prior misconduct to prove a criminal charge is "a basic tenet of criminal evidence law older than the republic itself . In any event, the jury in this case did not and could not know all of the record in the Crandall trial. That is not the end of the analysis, however. at 368, 417 N.E.2d at 906. The pathologist opined that Crandall died from a gunshot wound to the head. 1991) ("bootstrapping" testimony related to extrinsic acts is admissible but only to the extent it is relevant to a material fact). Indeed, the jury could have convicted Thompson on Percy's testimony alone. Far more importantly what somebody has to lose. 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. Rule 404(b) is on the books because evidence of prior crimes is presumptively prejudicial. The jury also returned convictions for two counts of felony murder, Ind.Code 35-42-1-1(2) (Supp.1989), which were merged into the murder convictions. Observing that Thompson had challenged Percy's credibility in opening arguments, the State maintained that some detail was needed to give the jury sufficient context in which to understand, and therefore credit, Percy's testimony about how Thompson acquired the gun used to kill Hillis and Beeler. There is no doubt that Percy's credibility was critical to the State's case. The best result we found for your search is Jerry Wayne Thompson age 70s in Portland, OR in the Maplewood neighborhood. Thompson also challenges the testimony of New Castle gun dealer Jeff Vaughn, who testified that in October 1990 he sold Crandall a gun resembling the second gun discussed above. In June 1991, defendant Jerry Thompson and Douglas Percy were driving through Illinois and were stopped for a traffic violation. He worked in the kitchens and as a driver and mechanic. The defense asked jurors to think about what somebody's got to gain when they testify. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. 1986). The proffered conviction here does not approach the probative value required to outweigh that prejudice under Rule 403. Most seriously, the information, witness list, and verdict form from the Crandall murder trial were admitted into evidence. In light of this disposition, it is unnecessary to. At oral argument in this Court, the State contended that these details, which were partially corroborated by other witnesses as explained below, were admissible to show Percy's credibility. 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. Indeed, the jury could have convicted Thompson on Percy's testimony alone. When this mandate is observed, the conviction will not be disturbed. 492, 355 N.E.2d 843 (1976), however, stand for nothing more than what we have already concluded was permissible -- a showing, with reasonable factual context, of access to the murder weapon. denied; Pirnat v. State, 612 N.E.2d 153, 155 (Ind. at 367, 417 N.E.2d at 906. They met Mr. Crandall in his home in New Castle; they conducted their business, and when it came time to leave, they didn't leave. Ct. App. ON OCTOBER 27, 2002, THOMPSON WAS FOUND DEAD IN THE RECREATION AREA OF A CELLBLOCK ON "X ROW" AT THE INDIANA STATE PRISON IN MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA. Not every aggravator needs to be kept from the jury. Join Facebook to connect with Jerry Thompson and others you may know. In light of this disposition, it is unnecessary to reach the remaining claims of error.12. Facebook gives people the power. Hardin v. State, 611 N.E.2d 123, 129 (Ind.1993). Indeed, the State does not contend that these were signature crimes. This discussion of the Crandall murder followed: [W]hen [Percy] came forward to the Police he insisted that he needed to tell them about something that happened in New Castle, Indiana In February of 1991, [Thompson and Percy] went to New Castle, Indiana, to meet a man by the name of Wesley Crandall. 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.
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