Thursday, February 01, 2007
Defense wants change of venue for corruption case
Lawyers for former sheriff Frank Cassell say their client can't get a fair trial in Roanoke.
Attorneys for former Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell argued Wednesday for a change of venue in his criminal case, calling media coverage "massive, concentrated and highly prejudicial."
"We don't believe we can have confidence in an untainted jury pool," said Roanoke lawyer John Lichtenstein.
Federal prosecutor Tom Bondurant opposed the motion, saying he believes Cassell can get a fair trial in Roanoke.
Cassell was indicted in October along with 13 other current and former Henry County deputies and seven civilians. Many are charged with stealing from evidence or dealing drugs; Cassell is accused of knowing about illegal activity in the department but ignoring it.
Also on Wednesday, four people pleaded guilty in the case, including former Henry County Sheriff's Maj. James Harold Keaton.
Lichtenstein compared the Henry County investigation to other high-profile cases he and his law partner, John Fishwick, have tried. Those include the indictment of then-Roanoke pain specialist Cecil Knox and the fraud trial of former National D-Day Memorial Foundation president Richard Burrow.
"I have never seen in all of those cases the kinds of media publicity that we have seen in this case," he said after handing U.S. District Judge James Turk a thick file of exhibits.
According to Lichtenstein, WDBJ (Channel 7) has had at least 70 "separate entries or broadcasts" on the case, some of which accused Cassell of being indicted on racketeering charges.
"Always he [Cassell] is the lightning rod for the stories," Lichtenstein said.
He also complained that the WSLS (Channel 10) Web site invites viewers to search for reports on the case under the heading "Henry County corruption" and that The Roanoke Times' editorial board repeatedly called for Cassell's resignation after he was first indicted last year.
In addition, he said media outlets in the Lynchburg and Danville areas have given heavy, sometimes inaccurate coverage to the case.
Because the prosecution made public several covertly recorded conversations from the investigation and those tapes were posted online by local media outlets, anyone can go on the Internet and hear them, the defense said.
"It is ubiquitous," Lichtenstein said. "It is everywhere."
But Bondurant said media attention in the case was heavy at first but has since subsided. He added that opinions expressed in news editorials have not been as harsh in this case as in others Lichtenstein offered.
In addition, Bondurant said the defense has tried to generate its own media attention, at one point holding a news conference that mischaracterized Cassell's arrest.
Statements that federal agents stormed into Cassell's home elicited an indignant letter to Turk from U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, who said Cassell walked out of his home on his own and submitted to the arrest.
While the defense is hoping the judge will move the trial to Charlottesville, Bondurant said if the case must be moved at all, he wants it moved to Abingdon.
Turk commented that he had not heard many people talking about the case and assumed the public was not paying much attention to it.
He then promised to rule on the motion in the near future.
Keaton, 36, who was Cassell's right-hand man in the department, pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen rifle and lying to a grand jury about it. He later admitted to a second grand jury that he'd kept the gun for several years before turning it in.
Ronald Dean Trantham, 46, pleaded guilty to racketeering and making a false statement. His role in the case involved selling drugs that were stolen from evidence by deputies.
Former vice officer Travis Todd Wilkins, 32, admitted to possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Prosecutors say he built an automatic AR-15 with a part that was stolen from evidence. He later traded it for another gun.
Kandy Hubbard DeShazo, 33, a former employee with the U.S. Postal Service, pleaded guilty to making a false statement. Authorities say she helped co-defendant William Reed obtain a post office box under a false name to be used for illegal activities.
Ten defendants have pleaded guilty in the case thus far and could be called to testify against any defendant who goes to trial.
Attorneys agreed on a trial date of June 5 for Cassell.
