OFF THE WIRE
Appeals Court tossed murder conviction against ‘Nazi John’; second trial likely
A 40-year-old outlaw biker previously convicted in a Ravensdale killing where no body was recovered is back in King County jail and likely on his way to a second trial.
John Price – known as "Nazi John" to the Ghost Riders, the biker gxxg to which he belonged – was previously convicted of first-degree murder in the the December 2004 slaying of Don Jessup at a Ravensdale trailer. Though Jessup's body has not been found, prosecutors successfully argued Price beat him with an ax handle before shooting him in the head.
Sentenced to 35 years in prison in January 2009, Price appealed the conviction and ultimately won a reversal from the state Court of Appeals.
The appellate court threw out Price’s conviction because Price was not in the room when potential jurors were dismissed because they would not be able to serve on the jury for personal reasons. Prosecutors asserted Price had agreed not to attend jury selection proceedings that day, and that the state Supreme Court erred when it ruled that defendants’ due process rights are violated when they aren’t able to watch the early phases of jury selection.
Price was returned to the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center on Friday, having spent the past two years in state prison. King County prosecutors are now preparing to retry the alleged killer.
Proving the case against Price was made more difficult because Jessup’s body was never recovered. Still, the prosecution was able to prevail largely because of the testimony of two women who claim to have been in the trailer when Price killed Jessup. Their testimony – in addition to dozens of letters and phone calls Price made from jail – is the strongest evidence in a case where no murder weapon or forensic evidence was recovered.
At trial in 2008, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole drew on Price's letters to witnesses in the killing. Price, the prosecutor said, shot Jessup in the face after an argument at a Ravensdale home where Price was living with his girlfriend.
Jessup, a past president of the Gypsy Jokers motorcycle gxxg, arrived at the home for dinner. During the meal, witnesses told police, Jessup taunted Price by offering to sell Price a motorcycle that had been stolen from the home weeks before.
Enraged, Price left and returned with a handgun. Prosecutors say he attacked Jessup with an ax handle, then shot him in the mouth as he sat on the floor.
"There can be no doubt," O'Toole said at the time, "that when the defendant walked back into that house, he had an ax handle in his hand, a gun in his waistband and murder on his mind."
Relaying conversations they'd had with Price, witnesses told King County sheriff's deputies that two other Ghost Riders gxxg members helped Price clean the house and dispose of Jessup's body. One of the men, William Renner, has since pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment for threatening and offering a $500 bribe to one of the witnesses.
In addition to the murder charge, Price was convicted on two counts of witness tampering stemming from threats he allegedly made against two of the prosecution’s witnesses.
Granting Price’s request for a new trial, the state Court of Appeals, Division 1, tossed out the conviction for what it deemed a procedural error during jury selection.
When selecting a jury, a judge often begins by asking members of the jury pool – in Price’s case about 200 people – whether jury service presents any particular hardship on them. Potential jurors who claim service would cause them undue trouble are then excused, usually before prosecutors and the defense begins questioning them about possible biases or connections they may have that would preclude them from serving on the jury.
Defendants have the right to be present during any critical stage of the proceedings against them, including jury selection. Denying a defendant that ability has been held to be grounds for reversal.
According to the Appeals Court opinion, Price voluntarily waived his presence during the initial period of jury selection – when jurors were asked if they had significant personal reasons not be serve on the jury. All told, 80 of the potential jurors were dismissed, all but two on the grounds that service presented a particular hardship to them.
Issuing its opinion in July, the appellate court found Price’s attorney failed to inform him that the early phase of jury selection was still a critical stage of the trial. Though the judge noted it was, the Court of Appeals found Price was in effect denied the opportunity to be in court for the jurors’ dismissals, and threw out the verdict.
“We conclude that Price did not make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his constitutional rights,” Judge Ronald Cox said in the three-judge panel’s unanimous decision.
“The fundamental purpose of a defendant’s right to be present during jury selection is to allow him or her to give advice or suggestions to counsel or even to supersede counsel’s decisions,” Cox continued. “Here, because Price was not present for this portion of jury selection, he was unable to exercise that right.”
Fighting the appeal, King County prosecutors argued the judge’s decision had no practical impact on the case or the jury’s verdict. Even with those two jurors gone, Price and his attorney had 120 more candidates to choose from.
Price, who remains charged with first-degree murder and two counts of witness tampering, is expected in King County Superior Court on Friday. A trial date has not yet been set.
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http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Biker-convicted-in-no-body-Ravensdale-3359849.php