Teh One Who Knocks
08-29-2016, 11:55 AM
By JORDAN FOUTS - The Elkhart Truth
http://i.imgur.com/QFuhpFt.jpg
A man charged in a 2015 Elkhart murder and criminal confinement case insisted Thursday on representing himself in court despite warnings from the judge that it could be the worst decision of his life.
Elkhart County Circuit Court Judge Terry Shewmaker granted the request of Leon Tyson, 28, to represent himself as he stands trial on charges related to the shooting death of Tommie Strowder. The 37-year-old Strowder was shot and killed June 20, 2015, in the 500 block of West Marion Street in Elkhart.
Tyson had signed a waiver and said he wanted to proceed with the trial without a lawyer. Shewmaker said he would only allow him to give up his right to a lawyer if he understood what that meant for his trial.
Shewmaker explained that the murder charge carries a sentence of up to 65 years and the Level 3 felony charge of criminal confinement a sentence of up to 16 years. He said Tyson would likely serve 75 percent of the potential sentences if convicted, meaning he could be imprisoned for at least 60 years.
The judge also pointed out that attorneys have skills vital to a trial such as Tyson's, such as considering evidence and witnesses, examining and cross-examining those witnesses on the stand and following all the necessary legal rules and procedures. Tyson would have to do the same and would not receive any special treatment acting as his own attorney, he said.
He also couldn't complain after the trial that he was given a bad lawyer, Shewmaker said.
Tyson told the judge he would educate himself on what he needed to do and would represent himself "to the best of my abilities," but he was not able to answer many of Shewmaker's questions to the judge's satisfaction, such as the number of pre-emptory challenges allowed in jury selection and the applicability of federal case law to a state case such as his.
Asked if he had ever even seen a trial, Tyson answered, "On TV."
After granting Tyson's request Shewmaker also ordered that standby counsel be appointed, just in case.
"Because this has happened time after time, and when they get to that moment of truth, the defendant backs out," he said. "We don't want to have to start over, so we will have someone there from the beginning."
Tyson was charged with murder and criminal confinement after police say he held Strowder and a woman at gunpoint in the woman's apartment as he demanded one of them return a stolen gun or give him $300 in exchange. Multiple witnesses told police that Strowder called a friend and asked her to retrieve $300 from his home because "my life depends on it."
While Tyson was still holding Strowder and the woman at gunpoint, Strowder got up, told Tyson “you’re not going to kill me,” and ran out of the home. Tyson followed him outside and shot him twice as he ran across the street.
After the shooting, Tyson got in the woman’s car and drove away down a nearby alley.
Strowder was found lying behind a home nearly a block away. He was pronounced dead of his injuries at Memorial Hospital in South Bend and his death was ruled a homicide.
A police K-9 unit searching an alley near the scene found a semi-automatic pistol, which police say was the gun used to shoot Strowder. Casings found near the scene and bullets removed from Strowder’s body and the side of a nearby home matched the pistol.
Tyson was extradited to Elkhart County earlier this month from the Cook County Jail in Chicago on unrelated charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. His first court appearance in Elkhart was Aug. 15.
http://i.imgur.com/QFuhpFt.jpg
A man charged in a 2015 Elkhart murder and criminal confinement case insisted Thursday on representing himself in court despite warnings from the judge that it could be the worst decision of his life.
Elkhart County Circuit Court Judge Terry Shewmaker granted the request of Leon Tyson, 28, to represent himself as he stands trial on charges related to the shooting death of Tommie Strowder. The 37-year-old Strowder was shot and killed June 20, 2015, in the 500 block of West Marion Street in Elkhart.
Tyson had signed a waiver and said he wanted to proceed with the trial without a lawyer. Shewmaker said he would only allow him to give up his right to a lawyer if he understood what that meant for his trial.
Shewmaker explained that the murder charge carries a sentence of up to 65 years and the Level 3 felony charge of criminal confinement a sentence of up to 16 years. He said Tyson would likely serve 75 percent of the potential sentences if convicted, meaning he could be imprisoned for at least 60 years.
The judge also pointed out that attorneys have skills vital to a trial such as Tyson's, such as considering evidence and witnesses, examining and cross-examining those witnesses on the stand and following all the necessary legal rules and procedures. Tyson would have to do the same and would not receive any special treatment acting as his own attorney, he said.
He also couldn't complain after the trial that he was given a bad lawyer, Shewmaker said.
Tyson told the judge he would educate himself on what he needed to do and would represent himself "to the best of my abilities," but he was not able to answer many of Shewmaker's questions to the judge's satisfaction, such as the number of pre-emptory challenges allowed in jury selection and the applicability of federal case law to a state case such as his.
Asked if he had ever even seen a trial, Tyson answered, "On TV."
After granting Tyson's request Shewmaker also ordered that standby counsel be appointed, just in case.
"Because this has happened time after time, and when they get to that moment of truth, the defendant backs out," he said. "We don't want to have to start over, so we will have someone there from the beginning."
Tyson was charged with murder and criminal confinement after police say he held Strowder and a woman at gunpoint in the woman's apartment as he demanded one of them return a stolen gun or give him $300 in exchange. Multiple witnesses told police that Strowder called a friend and asked her to retrieve $300 from his home because "my life depends on it."
While Tyson was still holding Strowder and the woman at gunpoint, Strowder got up, told Tyson “you’re not going to kill me,” and ran out of the home. Tyson followed him outside and shot him twice as he ran across the street.
After the shooting, Tyson got in the woman’s car and drove away down a nearby alley.
Strowder was found lying behind a home nearly a block away. He was pronounced dead of his injuries at Memorial Hospital in South Bend and his death was ruled a homicide.
A police K-9 unit searching an alley near the scene found a semi-automatic pistol, which police say was the gun used to shoot Strowder. Casings found near the scene and bullets removed from Strowder’s body and the side of a nearby home matched the pistol.
Tyson was extradited to Elkhart County earlier this month from the Cook County Jail in Chicago on unrelated charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. His first court appearance in Elkhart was Aug. 15.