The Murder That Took Thirty Years

[jimmy olsen]

 Couldn't fit a good title in the space allowed. Anyways I agree with the judges.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/ocregister-314498-case-shot.html

Court: No murder case in deputy's 1980 shooting

Sgt. Ira Essoe died last year of complications stemming from shooting in 1980.

By GREG HARDESTY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A murder case cannot proceed against two men who already have served prison time for attempting to kill an Orange County Sheriff's sergeant nearly 31 years ago, an appellate court panel has ruled.

Co-defendants Robert Duston Strong and David Michael Knick, locked up in Orange County Jail for more than nine months in an unusual homicide prosecution, will be released by Oct. 31 if Monday's ruling becomes final, their attorneys said.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office has 15 days to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Charging Strong and Knick for murder under the theory that the death of Sgt. Ira Essoe in February 2010 was the result of injuries he sustained nearly three decades earlier is a violation of the defendants' constitutional rights, the appellate justices ruled.

"It was a tragic event that led to this date, but these men were tried and convicted for the crime they committed, and trying to convict them for a crime they did not commit is a travesty," Knick's attorney, Fred Fascenelli, said Tuesday.

Strong, Knick and another accomplice were in the process of burglarizing a vehicle at the Orange Mall when Essoe was shot on Nov. 6, 1980.

One bullet severed Essoe's spinal cord and immediately paralyzed him, relegating him to a life of pain and infections that ultimately claimed his life.

Monday's opinion by the three-justice panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal revolved around "Section 194" of the state's criminal law, which was revised in 1997 to allow for the prosecution of murders no matter how long it takes for the victim to die. Before that, prosecutors had to file murder charges within three years and a day of the crime.

Orange County prosecutors argued before the appellate panel that there is no statute of limitations for murder, and said the revision in 1997 was procedural and related to evidence --- and not a substantive change in law.

In their 3-0 decision, however, the appellate court panel likened the law in place at the time Essoe was shot to a statute of limitations, agreeing with attorneys for Knick and Strong that the defendants had to be held to the standards of the law when the crime was committed.

"The district attorney suggests the time bar was never triggered because a murder is not 'complete' until the victim dies," Appellate Justice Richard Aronson wrote in the ruling, with Justices William Rylaarsdam and Raymond Ikola concurring.

"We are not persuaded," Aronson wrote. "The district attorney's construction turns Section 194 on its head, requiring the victim to die as a prerequisite that is not specified in the statute. To the contrary, its plain terms preclude murder charges if the victim did not die within three years and a day of an attack."

Strong , 55, of Riverside, was convicted in July 1981 and spent about 10 years in prison for the attempted murder of Essoe. Knick, 54, of Yucca Valley, served about nine years in prison for the crime following his conviction in August 1981.

A third defendant, David Vogel, was not charged due to lack of evidence.

Knick and Strong were arrested on a murder charge last November following Essoe's death.

The coroner ruled that his death was a homicide caused by "delayed complications of remote gunshot wounds [to his] torso."

Essoe was paralyzed from the waist down and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He lost both legs due to amputation and ultimately developed sepsis, a fatal blood condition.

The shooting, in effect, was a death sentence for the lawman, his relatives said last year in support of murder charges being filed against Knick and Strong.

Relatives of the defendants, however, decried the prosecution, saying the two men had already served their time.

Fascenelli visited Knick at the Orange County Jail shortly after learning about the ruling late Monday.

"He was happy, but he expected (the ruling)," Fascenelli said. "He expected to be vindicated."

Knick feels "bitter" being behind bars for nine months, Fascenelli added.

Since being released from prison for attempted murder, Knick has lived an "exemplary life,"

Fascenelli said, taking care of his now-deceased wife – paralyzed from a car accident – and staying active in his church.

Strong's attorney, Daniel Greenberg, said state lawmakers revised Section 194 because advances in medicine made it possible to keep crime victims alive for much longer.

Prosecuting Knick and Strong now for murder would be a violation of state and federal laws preventing ex-post facto – "from after the action" -- application of laws, Greenberg said.

"My client made some very stupid decision when he was a younger man, but clearly you can't change the law to prosecute a person who previously was immune from prosecution," Greenberg said.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons, who was set to take the murder case against Knick and Strong to trial, said he needs to review the appellate ruling before his office decides what to do next.

In a letter Knick wrote from jail that was sent to The Register by one of his daughters, the ex-felon blasted the DA's office for pursuing the murder charge.

"It boggles the mind, with absurdity and recklessness, to observe the depths of insanity the DA's office is willing to crawl to in order to proceed with this totally vindictive, illegal and constitutionally prohibited prosecution," Knick wrote.

Relatives said Essoe never complained about his paralysis and that he always looked back on his career in law enforcement with pride. His wife, Ramona, served as his caretaker.

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

Essoe was the first California peace officer to die in the line of duty in 2010, and the ninth Orange County Sheriff's Department deputy to die in the line of duty, according to records dating back to 1912.

Former Sheriff Brad Gates and Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens were among the hundreds of law enforcement officials who packed Essoe's memorial service at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest last spring.

This May, Essoe's name was enshrined on a California Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation memorial in Sacramento, and he was similarly honored in Orange County and in Washington, D.C.

In a statement Tuesday, Hutchens said: "We are dismayed at the narrow view the courts have taken in this matter and agree with the District Attorney's position on the points of law. Sgt. Essoe suffered an agonizing life following the shooting that left him paralyzed from the waist down; an excruciating process that took his career, his limbs and ultimately his life.

"The perpetrators' intent was clear: to kill Sgt. Essoe and flee the area. Our hope is that justice prevails and this case is taken to a higher court on appeal. Those responsible for his death should be held fully answerable for their actions.

"Our hearts go out to the family of Sgt. Ira Essoe who has had to endure more than a family should ever have to endure because of the reckless, criminal actions of these two defendants."

City News Service contributed to this story.

[CountDeMoney]

Hell, they recharge convicts all the time here in the People's Republic of Maryland.  Attempted murder is a different charge than murder.  Figured the Land of the Free would do it, too.

[CountDeMoney]

Anyways I agree with the judges.

Once again, nobody gives two wet hampster shits what you think, Assburger's.

[Martinus]

Relatives said Essoe never complained about his paralysis

LOLZ seriously? He never complained about being paralyzed?

It seems policemen in the Orange County are as stupid as they are clumsy. 

[Martinus]

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

As I said, stupid. Also I love rednecks and other human thrash who come up with this "III" business.

[Martinus]

Anyways I agree with the judges.

Once again, nobody gives two wet hampster shits what you think, Assburger's.

Your coptard anger is delicious.

[jimmy olsen]

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

As I said, stupid. Also I love rednecks and other human thrash who come up with this "III" business.

Damn the Pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare! If only his father had been more creative! Redneck piece of trash!

[Ideologue]

Couldn't fit a good title in the space allowed.

"The Murder That Took Thirty Years."  You're welcome.

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

As I said, stupid. Also I love rednecks and other human thrash who come up with this "III" business.

God, you have such an inferiority complex it's not funny.

[Martinus]

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

As I said, stupid. Also I love rednecks and other human thrash who come up with this "III" business.

Damn the Pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare! If only his father had been more creative! Redneck piece of trash!

Exactly my point, you tard. Using the naming convention of monarchs for rednecks is idiotic. Are you so dumb not to understand that, you fucking cretin?

[Martinus]

Couldn't fit a good title in the space allowed.

"The Murder That Took Thirty Years."  You're welcome.

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

As I said, stupid. Also I love rednecks and other human thrash who come up with this "III" business.

God, you have such an inferiority complex it's not funny.

Inferiority complex? Are you kidding me?

[Ideologue]

Actually, on reflection, it is sort of funny.

[CountDeMoney]

Anyways I agree with the judges.

Once again, nobody gives two wet hampster shits what you think, Assburger's.

Your coptard anger is delicious.

My blackjack is red

[Caliga]

Yeah, I'm sure there are a lot of rednecks in Orange County. 

[Ideologue]

Couldn't fit a good title in the space allowed.

"The Murder That Took Thirty Years."  You're welcome.

Essoe's three children all went into law enforcement, including Ira Essoe III, a sergeant with the sheriff department's contract city of San Juan Capistrano.

As I said, stupid. Also I love rednecks and other human thrash who come up with this "III" business.

God, you have such an inferiority complex it's not funny.

Inferiority complex? Are you kidding me?

No, I'm serious.  You're flinging invective for no other reason that I can determine but it makes you feel better about yourself.  There's nothing in the article that suggests these people are poor or stupid, unless you automatically equate being a cop with being stupid.  If that's the case, your contempt for them is an inauthentic pose, and it reflects poorly on you.  And in any event, I seriously doubt you have any special insight into these folks' lives.

[jimmy olsen]

Couldn't fit a good title in the space allowed.

"The Murder That Took Thirty Years."  You're welcome.

Actually, that's really damn good. Thanks.

I thought of putting "by Ide" at the end, but didn't  want to confuse anyone.