Monday, October 8, 2012

Prosecutor Continues To "Play Cards Close To The Chest" With Rayjon Gomez Murder Case...

Facebook photo used under First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism, blog post by John Hoff

As this blogger reported with the indictment of Donquarius Copeland and with the indictment of Derrick Deangelo Catchings, the Hennepin County prosecutor is "playing his cards close to his chest" with indictments instead of criminal complaints. Issuing forth from closed grand jury proceedings, the indictments reveal little but bare allegations and the fact witnesses exist designated by letter. This blogger suspects evidence may be thin and witnesses are scared...well, rhymes with witless.

Scared witless.

(Today I was at the U of M law school giving a talk on the Johnny Northside case and the experience has inspired me to clean up my post-Afghan deployment potty mouth)

Here is the indictment that names Kemen (rhymes with "semen?") Lavatos Taylor, but if you click here to read it you won't learn much. The indictment is nearly a carbon copy of the indictment of Donquarius Copeland. Just switch the names.

No criticism is intended of the prosecutor by this observation. If this is how the game must be played, well, this is why prosectuors earn the big bucks. I just wish the unsolved murder of Annshalike Hamilton could get this kind of resolution. 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Post-Afghanistan? You are far too loose with the truth, looser.

Johnny Northside! said...

Fair enough. I certainly did have a habit of cussing prior to deployment in Afghanistan but my closest friends tell me I'm worse. So I'm working on it.

And it's spelled "loser."

Like so:

LOSER.

Anonymous said...

It's spelled loser.

And what makes JNS loose with the truth by using the phrase post-afghanistan? Or are you one of those obsessed, rabid trolls who thinks everything John says is a lie, because you....

you...

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!???!!!

Anonymous said...

i did my job by pissing someone off and it always seems to work when i comment on a "looser" instead of the correct spelling which, in context, would be "loser". It always seems that one of you know-it-alls jump at the chance to "show your intelligence". White folks are arrogant by nature.

Anonymous said...

Glad the murderes of Rayjon are indicted and glad that the proscutors and doing what they need to do to protect witnesses and anyone else who may be a target. It is one thing to blog about violence and another thing to be a part of it. You can't read a book and think you understand the streets.No one else needs to die just for the sake of posting a blog.

Anonymous said...

You are an uninformed moron. First Degree Murder can only be charged by indictment, not by complaint. Thats why this went to the grand jury and is in the form on an indictment only. I thought you went to law school?

Anonymous said...

If you kill more than one person are you a serial killer? If the alleged murderers had to use a gun to kill a twelve year old boy, i
can only imagine how many homicides they may be responsible for. It should be a federal crime anytime an adult kills a child and the perpetraters should be executed.

Johnny Northside! said...

Here is the rule.

Rule 17.Indictment, Complaint and Tab Charge
Rule 17.01Prosecution by Indictment, Complaint or Tab Charge
Subd. 1.Offenses Punishable by Life Imprisonment.An offense punishable by life imprisonment must be prosecuted by indictment. The prosecutor may initially proceed by a complaint after an arrest without a warrant or as the basis to issue an arrest warrant. Subsequent procedure must be in accordance with Rules 8 and 19. Any other offense defined by state law may be prosecuted by indictment or by a complaint as provided by Rule 2.

As you can see, the prosecutor may indeed initially proceed by a criminal complaint. The fact he didn't shows he is playing his cards "close to his chest."

Uninformed moron.

Anonymous said...

You have no idea what you are talking about. Older cases are almost never charged by complaint but by indictment.

Johnny Northside! said...

Right, because the anonymous person knows so much about the law and tried to tell me a moment ago that First Degree Murder can ONLY be charged by indictment, when the rule says it can initially proceed by criminal complaint.

Oh, that reminds me. I have stuff to write about Jill Clark and what's going to happen to her law license.