Teh One Who Knocks
08-02-2011, 06:06 PM
Written by Mike Donoghue, Burlington Free Press Staff Writer
http://i.imgur.com/OtR2C.jpg
A central Vermont man who was acquitted of a murder charge in the fatal 2002 shooting of a co-worker outside a pizza restaurant in Waitsfield called police and confessed to the crime last month — but there’s nothing state authorities say they can do about it.
A Washington County jury in 2004 found Isaac Turnbaugh of Randolph not guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Declan Lyons, 24, of Montpelier as he stirred a pot of sauce outside the American Flatbread Co.
In July, Turnbaugh, now 28, called Randolph police and said he shot Lyons in the head with a rifle and wished to surrender to authorities, according to a sworn law-enforcement account of what happened.
The police affidavit was filed in connection with a charge that alleges Turnbaugh, after his purported confession, struck a Randolph police officer in the jaw.
The incident was first reported by The Herald, a weekly newspaper based in Randolph.
Despite Turnbaugh’s alleged admission to the Lyons murder, the state has few options, Attorney General William Sorrell said Monday. His office prosecuted the murder charge against Turnbaugh, who was 18 and living in Moretown at the time of the slaying.
“You only get one bite of the apple. It’s double jeopardy,” Sorrell said, referring to the legal doctrine that says a defendant can be put on trial for a crime only once. After an acquittal, Sorrell added, “You can go out on the courthouse steps and confess, and the state can’t do anything.”
He said the statute of limitations in which non-murder charges might be filed have expired, and the evidence would have to be something not used in the murder trial.
Comments and a punch
Randolph Sgt. David Leighton, in a court affidavit, said officers were dispatched to a Weston Street apartment after Turnbaugh called and said he’d killed Lyons and wanted to turn himself in.
Leighton responded with Officer Kevin Almquist.
“Mr. Turnbaugh made a number of spontaneous comments relating to the past homicide,” including that he had shot Lyons “in the head with his 30-30 rifle,” Leighton wrote in the affidavit. After listening to Turnbaugh for a few minutes, Leighton asked him to come to the police station with the officers.
Turnbaugh was not handcuffed and was taken into a conference room. Turnbaugh stepped out of the room, said the word “officer,” and quickly struck Leighton in the left side of his lower lip, the affidavit said.
Turnbaugh was jailed for lack of $10,000 bail to await arraignment later that day in Chelsea. He was accused of simple assault on a police officer and pleaded not guilty.
Case closed?
After Turnbaugh’s acquittal seven years ago, Sorrell was blunt about what he thought had happened.
“The jury chose to believe that someone who repeatedly confessed to the murder was lying,” the attorney general said then, “but that’s the jury’s right.”
The defense argued at trial that Turnbaugh claimed responsibility because he was mentally ill, not because he was involved with the slaying.
Sorrell said Monday that prosecutors Cindy Maguire, John Treadwell and Cathy Norman did an exceptional job with the evidence the Vermont State Police developed. He said one problem was the fatal bullet was never found, so there could be no ballistics testing.
“There are tough cases. You’ve got to live with the outcome,” he said.
Sorrell credited defense lawyers Kurt Hughes and Frank Twarog with being able to raise the reasonable doubt necessary for acquittal. Hughes and Twarog contended the evidence was inconclusive. They noted that Turnbaugh, who has a history of mental illness, was the type who would make self-incriminating statements even though he was not involved in the crime.
Hughes told the Burlington Free Press on Monday that Turnbaugh’s confessions arise from his mental state.
“He said the same thing before the trial. It is part of his mental illness, and he also claimed responsibility for 9/11,” Hughes said. “The jury rightfully did not put a lot of stock in his statements. He was smoking pot, had mushrooms and mental illness.”
During the 2004 trial, the defense had described Turnbaugh’s drug use.
State police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said the department is aware of the comments police say Turnbaugh recently made.
“We will review them, but it is not a commitment to anything,” she said.
After the acquittal, then-Vermont State Police Detective Lt. Tim Bombardier said he remained convinced that Turnbaugh was guilty. He is now police chief in Barre City.
“We had the right person,” Bombardier said at the time. “If I honestly thought we had the wrong person, I wouldn’t have brought the case to the prosecution.”
Turnbaugh said at the time that state police were “a bunch of sore losers.” He added, “The killer’s still out there.”
During his arraignment after the July incident, Turnbaugh was sent to the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury and is undergoing a mental-health evaluation.
http://i.imgur.com/OtR2C.jpg
A central Vermont man who was acquitted of a murder charge in the fatal 2002 shooting of a co-worker outside a pizza restaurant in Waitsfield called police and confessed to the crime last month — but there’s nothing state authorities say they can do about it.
A Washington County jury in 2004 found Isaac Turnbaugh of Randolph not guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Declan Lyons, 24, of Montpelier as he stirred a pot of sauce outside the American Flatbread Co.
In July, Turnbaugh, now 28, called Randolph police and said he shot Lyons in the head with a rifle and wished to surrender to authorities, according to a sworn law-enforcement account of what happened.
The police affidavit was filed in connection with a charge that alleges Turnbaugh, after his purported confession, struck a Randolph police officer in the jaw.
The incident was first reported by The Herald, a weekly newspaper based in Randolph.
Despite Turnbaugh’s alleged admission to the Lyons murder, the state has few options, Attorney General William Sorrell said Monday. His office prosecuted the murder charge against Turnbaugh, who was 18 and living in Moretown at the time of the slaying.
“You only get one bite of the apple. It’s double jeopardy,” Sorrell said, referring to the legal doctrine that says a defendant can be put on trial for a crime only once. After an acquittal, Sorrell added, “You can go out on the courthouse steps and confess, and the state can’t do anything.”
He said the statute of limitations in which non-murder charges might be filed have expired, and the evidence would have to be something not used in the murder trial.
Comments and a punch
Randolph Sgt. David Leighton, in a court affidavit, said officers were dispatched to a Weston Street apartment after Turnbaugh called and said he’d killed Lyons and wanted to turn himself in.
Leighton responded with Officer Kevin Almquist.
“Mr. Turnbaugh made a number of spontaneous comments relating to the past homicide,” including that he had shot Lyons “in the head with his 30-30 rifle,” Leighton wrote in the affidavit. After listening to Turnbaugh for a few minutes, Leighton asked him to come to the police station with the officers.
Turnbaugh was not handcuffed and was taken into a conference room. Turnbaugh stepped out of the room, said the word “officer,” and quickly struck Leighton in the left side of his lower lip, the affidavit said.
Turnbaugh was jailed for lack of $10,000 bail to await arraignment later that day in Chelsea. He was accused of simple assault on a police officer and pleaded not guilty.
Case closed?
After Turnbaugh’s acquittal seven years ago, Sorrell was blunt about what he thought had happened.
“The jury chose to believe that someone who repeatedly confessed to the murder was lying,” the attorney general said then, “but that’s the jury’s right.”
The defense argued at trial that Turnbaugh claimed responsibility because he was mentally ill, not because he was involved with the slaying.
Sorrell said Monday that prosecutors Cindy Maguire, John Treadwell and Cathy Norman did an exceptional job with the evidence the Vermont State Police developed. He said one problem was the fatal bullet was never found, so there could be no ballistics testing.
“There are tough cases. You’ve got to live with the outcome,” he said.
Sorrell credited defense lawyers Kurt Hughes and Frank Twarog with being able to raise the reasonable doubt necessary for acquittal. Hughes and Twarog contended the evidence was inconclusive. They noted that Turnbaugh, who has a history of mental illness, was the type who would make self-incriminating statements even though he was not involved in the crime.
Hughes told the Burlington Free Press on Monday that Turnbaugh’s confessions arise from his mental state.
“He said the same thing before the trial. It is part of his mental illness, and he also claimed responsibility for 9/11,” Hughes said. “The jury rightfully did not put a lot of stock in his statements. He was smoking pot, had mushrooms and mental illness.”
During the 2004 trial, the defense had described Turnbaugh’s drug use.
State police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said the department is aware of the comments police say Turnbaugh recently made.
“We will review them, but it is not a commitment to anything,” she said.
After the acquittal, then-Vermont State Police Detective Lt. Tim Bombardier said he remained convinced that Turnbaugh was guilty. He is now police chief in Barre City.
“We had the right person,” Bombardier said at the time. “If I honestly thought we had the wrong person, I wouldn’t have brought the case to the prosecution.”
Turnbaugh said at the time that state police were “a bunch of sore losers.” He added, “The killer’s still out there.”
During his arraignment after the July incident, Turnbaugh was sent to the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury and is undergoing a mental-health evaluation.