Hung jury in Gary Landergen trial

 

Hung jury in Gary Landergen trial on all counts. Case will be retried. Deputy DA Whitney Timm is talking with the alleged victims. Ms O'Connell finished talking with Landergen about 10 minutes ago.

If you read my previous coverage, I already expressed some concerns about jurors. Then, just this week two jurors were replaced. One two days before deliberations. One this morning. The jury deliberated less than two hours yesterday and approximately an hour and 15 minutes today. 3 hours of deliberations and they are deadlocked? What a joke?

What juror #11 expressed this morning should have been a sign. When you read the court minutes, you will see the split and how it changed all over the place. While the jury was deadlocked. They took 4 votes. Majority of the votes were guilty and the 4th vote has the biggest difference.

There were some jurors who said they were unwilling to change their minds. If it was the line  illegal or inappropriate conduct which made the impact? Were those minds made up before evidence concluded? Did the constant change in jurors being replaced affect the outcome? I am curious what the votes were by the coaches on the jury. To all those jurors who voted not guilty, are you comfortable with your daughters, grandaughters, sisters and wives being around Landergen and being alone with him? That is what your vote indicates. I wouldn't trust anyone who voted not guilty to protect women or children. 

The community was divided since the news broke about Landergen two years ago. Fortuna Police should have done a better job of the investigation. Charges were dismissed after the preliminary hearing. The ones that were left, the DA offered a plea based on the evidence before trial. Landergen took a gamble. It could have gone either way. Who is on a jury makes a difference. Constant changes with jurors late in a trial and deliberations carries a risk.

Before this case goes to retrial, the DA should do additional investigation, especially on Landergen, otherwise there is no point to retry the case. 

The DAs office has more staff and more access to more resources and databases than I do. DA Investigator Greg Hill can start by googling and investigating  three searches on Landergen that took me less than a minute and look into Landergen's past to bolster Fortuna Police Department's bumbling investigation instead of talking non stop to prosecutors inside and outside court and monopolizing their time. Hill will get the reference. All Humboldt DA investigators should learn ettiquette from Chief DA Investigator Kyla Baxley and DA investigator Ryan Hill who have worked on many cases with convictions; especially sexual assault and sex abuse cases.

Hill was also the lead investigator for the Fortuna attempted murder trial, he testified and look at the mixed verdict in that case. That was another case with a botched investigation by the Fortuna Police Department.  The Fortuna attempted trial was prosecuted by Deputy DA Trent Timm who is also an excellent prosecutor and one of the best at the DA's office. If the DA's office does not want to lose trials, they need to start using different investigators for more serious cases and stop tanking the reputation of decent prosecutors by weak investigations from certain police departments. Hill is a former Fortuna PD employee.

Besides, Greg Hill,  the DA's office also hired also hired former EPD Det. Richard Bise and EPD officer Tim Marsolan. I have seen Investigator Marsolan talk about cases with prosecutors and in less than 5 minutes, he showed more professionalism , focusand competentence than Hill. I have also dealt with Investigators Bise and Marsolan when they worked for other agencies and both have experience that is currently being underutilized.

Eureka Police Department, HCSO and Rio Dell do a better job than Arcata Police or Fortuna Police 

but even with EPD, HCSO and Rio Dell, it depends on who does the investigation. Many experienced Humboldt law enforcement personnel have left because of incompetent leadership making choices on who to promote and highlight based on dumb Humboldt cliquey mentality. The cost of living, low pay and challenges to health care with an anti law enforcement mentality does not help. This is a Humboldt problem but with courts; it literally affects life, liberty and justice.

I am not that impressed with the Fortuna school investigator either. The defense is going to take any weakness and any opportunity and exploit it to create reasonable doubt. No case can survive a weak initial investigation. 

Ms. O'Connell is a senior attorney who has a lot  experience. She knows how to present a strong case defending sexual predators and Barney Fife would have done a better job collecting evidence and investigation in this case than the Fortuna School District and Fortuna Police Department. While I understand it is Ms. O'Connell's job to defend her client, there are attorneys who take such cases and questioning a victim in sexual assault and sexual abuse cases can be done without revictimizing the survivor. I have received feedback on this post and my coverage of this case and that communication is confidential. Information that the DA, the defense and their investigators may not elicit or have and that is their problem. Let's just say that over 10 years; I speak up about the failures of local judicial system and other Humboldt injustices but what I express in public is felt and experienced by significant numbers of the local population who are afraid to speak up and feel unheard.

Ultimately, the jurors who voted not guilty chose to cherry pick what evidence they believed. How many were as honest as juror #11 who was excused and said she could not follow the law.? Despite best efforts at voir dire, people lie during jury selection.

Before I started this blog, I was on the the first jury for former Fortuna High School teacher Deirdre Peterson. It was a hung jury. I watched every day of the retrial. It was a hung jury again with the votes mirroring the first trial.

Since I started this blog, I have covered several cases from Fortuna. The two most high profile ones were Marci Kitchen and Tim Smith. Even though there was a conviction in the Smith case, there were numerous issues. I have covered hundreds of sex abuse, child molestation trials, many retrials involving all sorts of crime for 10 years. 

This blunt analysis may irritate and anger the vocal minority in this County who are allergic to the truth but it is appreciated by most readers which includes many local attorneys and lawyers all over the country. Honest coverage is why readers and voters and people across the country trust and appreciate my reporting. Many share and express kudos privately for obvious reasons in this small, isolated county and that is actually beneficial. Let those who are held accountable and called out on this blog live in their bubble and denial. Results in elections have shown who readers and voters trust and they pay attention. I regularly communicate with my readers and in person. Humboldt power structure and those in charge for the two decades and many who were in charge before I moved here are the problem. They keep this County stagnant, drive away good people and silence those who are stuck here trying to make a difference.

Trial confirmation  on 1/13/25; jury trial on 1/27/25. Zoom appearance at trial confirmation authorized for Landergen.

8/9 court minutes:

Earlier post (from today):

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/08/less-than-two-hours-of-deliberation-and.html?m=1

Previous posts (jury trial):

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/08/it-is-offensive-to-men-of-his.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/08/why-is-grown-man-touching-15-year-old.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/07/there-is-difference-between.html?m=1

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2024/07/this-is-not-discovery-fishing.html?m=1

I have linked prior coverage from the preliminary hearing and the case several times including the first post on the jury trial. You can search the blog or google those posts if you are a new reader.