THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250446
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
On the day his capital murder trial was to begin, a teenager charged with the August 1994 slaying of Ronald G. Bonney Jr. was released from jail on a technicality and will remain free until the court decides early next month what to do with his case.
Chauncey Jackson, 16, accused of being the triggerman in Bonney's death, was released on $20,000 personal recognizance to the custody of his mother at least until Nov. 6. On that date, Judge Lydia Taylor will decide whether to continue the case in Circuit Court, begin the case again in Juvenile Court or dismiss the charges and let Jackson go free.
``I don't know the answer at this point and I don't think you do,'' Taylor told prosecutor Lisa Caton Tuesday. ``I don't think the defense does. . . although they say they do.
``We've got an indictment that was improperly brought,'' Taylor said, obviously distressed. ``The defense brought me into a new situation, and we are feeling and fumbling our way.''
At issue was a juvenile law that went into effect on July 1, 1994, but which was not being followed by either the Circuit Court or the commonwealth's attorney's office until June of this year, testimony showed. Under the law, a juvenile case that is transferred to adult court must be reviewed and approved by a Circuit Court judge before the juvenile can be formally indicted.
This did not happen in Jackson's case. ``This is the fault of the court and the commonwealth,'' Taylor said. ``We did not conduct these hearings under the new statutes.''
It is the second time this year that a local juvenile charged with murder has been freed, at least temporarily, because of a legal technicality. In Virginia Beach, murder suspect Kelly Dara was released and her case sent back to Juvenile Court when a prosecutor said he mistakenly withheld evidence. She was eventually tried and convicted of murder.
Bonney was killed on Aug. 31, 1994, after meeting a man at a bar and agreeing to drive him to the 1500 block of Vine St. The man got out and went into the house while Bonney waited outside. Jackson's co-defendant, Calvin Outlaw, then walked over to Bonney's Chevy Blazer and spoke to Bonney.
In a statement to police, Outlaw said that he was talking to Bonney when Jackson climbed into the passenger seat, pointed a gun and told Bonney to ``give it up.'' Jackson then told Outlaw to back up and fired three shots at Bonney, the statement said.
Outlaw has been convicted of first-degree murder, attempted robbery and two firearms charges and sentenced to 68 years in prison.
Jackson was charged with capital murder, conspiracy, attempted robbery and two firearms charges. He made three statements to police, confessing to the shooting, Caton said Tuesday.
Jackson's charges were transferred from Juvenile Court on Sept. 21, 1994, and he was indicted in October 1994. The problem was that a Circuit Court judge did not review the juvenile transfer before prosecutors presented the charges to the October 1994 grand jury.
``Under the law, that indictment was improper,'' said Troy Spencer, one of Jackson's attorneys. ``Because of that, our position (on Nov. 6) will be that the charges should be dismissed entirely. I think this case is more serious than the (Kelly) Dara case, because in this case the commonwealth never had a proper indictment at all.''
However, the new law also states that defense attorneys must object to the proceedings before the trial begins, said prosecutor Caton. Because Jackson's attorneys did not raise that objection before his trial started Tuesday, she argued, they waived that right and the 1994 indictments should stand.
Taylor then pointed out that there is a third option - sending the case back to Juvenile Court to start again.
Yet events made the issue even more complicated, testimony and interviews show.
According to Caton, the court realized it was inadvertently disobeying the new law only when she talked this summer to Circuit Judge Charles Poston, a former Juvenile Court judge. On June 23, Poston reviewed and approved Jackson's transfer, 8 1/2 months after the indictment.
If prosecutors had sought a new indictment in July to correct the mistake made by the unreviewed October indictment, everything would have been according to statute and Jackson would not have been released. But prosecutors did not seek the new indictment - and the law requires them to seek an indictment within two grand juries of the judge's review.
Jackson had been in jail continuously since his arrest. Since the indictments were improper, that means there are also speedy-trial issues at play, said Jon Babineau, Jackson's other attorney. According to the state's speedy-trial law, a case can be dismissed if it is continued more than five months without the defendant's agreement.
When Jackson's case started on Tuesday, the clerk read from his October 1994 indictments. Caton told the court that those were the wrong indictments, and Jackson's attorneys said they had no objection as long as the newer indictments were found.
But both sides assumed that Jackson had been indicted in July. When they discovered that this was wrong, the case took off in an unexpected direction.
The victim's father and sister were obviously distressed during the hearing.
``This is not the commonwealth's responsibility,'' Becky Roberts, the victim's sister, said after the hearing. ``It was the judges' for not following the law. Because of this, a confessed killer will be walking the streets for who knows how long.'' by CNB