Bough Cutter

by Jeff Nania

  Tyler Winslow, looking shaken, appeared next. He was trying as hard as he could to explain something to the public defender at the defendant’s table. Soon Winslow’s voice went up a couple of notches.

  Then he turned to the judge and said, “Judge, can I talk to you for a minute? I mean, I need to talk to you right now. This lawyer I have got here is no good.”

  “Hold on, Mr. Winslow. I will get to you.”

  Judge Kritzer called the court to order. I looked around and noticed Attorney Jack Wheeler was sitting in the back, away from onlookers and media people, going through a folder of papers.

  “First off, let’s get back to Mr. Winslow’s issue regarding his assigned counsel. What is the problem here, Mr. Winslow?”

  “This stupid lawyer here says I might as well just plead guilty and try for a better sentence. I am not guilty, and the sheriff knows it. He has made up a bunch of charges. I need a different lawyer. This guy I got is no good.”

  “Mr. Winslow, do you have funds to hire your own lawyer?” the judge asked.

  “No, I don’t have the money to hire a lawyer. The law says that you have got to give me a lawyer if I can’t afford to hire one, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, it does, Mr. Winslow. I believe that is your lawyer sitting next to you at this time.”

  “Judge, I want a different lawyer. If this dude represents me, I will never get out.”

  The judge asked the public defender to approach the bench. After a brief conversation, he returned to his seat.

  “Mr. Winslow, I am going to honor your request for a new lawyer,” the judge informed him. The public defender was dismissed and left the courtroom with a smile on his face.

  Court was adjourned temporarily. The judge requested the bailiff and I to sit on either side of Tyler Winslow until he returned. Ten minutes later, Judge Kritzer came back and called the court to order.

  “Due to the recent arrests and the dismissal of counsel by the defendant, we find ourselves with an acute shortage of attorneys in the public defender’s office. Mr. Winslow is charged with two felonies and is entitled to counsel. Attorney Wheeler, please approach the bench.”

  Jack Wheeler looked up, stunned.

  “Attorney Wheeler, please approach the bench,” Judge Kritzer repeated.

  Jack stood up in front of the judge. “Yes, Your Honor?” he said.

  “Attorney Wheeler, what brings you here today?”

  “I need your signature on some papers I am filing on behalf of Northern Lakes Academy.”

  “Glad to hear you’re helping out that school. What a fine institution it is.”

  “I agree, Your Honor,” Jack replied.

  “How is your caseload, Attorney Wheeler?”

  “Your Honor, being semi-retired, I rarely have a full schedule anymore.”

  “That’s good to hear, Attorney Wheeler, because I find myself in a difficult situation. Mr. Winslow here is without counsel. I know you to be a staunch advocate for the law, so I would like you to volunteer to represent Mr. Winslow.”

  “Isn’t this a criminal case? I am not a criminal defense lawyer, Your Honor. I don’t really feel that I can do justice to Mr. Wheeler’s defense,” Jack responded.

  “I can understand you being hesitant, so let me help you. You’re it, Attorney Wheeler,” the judge said. Then he turned to the court recorder, “Let the record reflect that Attorney Jack Wheeler is now the counsel of record for Tyler Winslow.”

  “I need time to look at the case file, Your Honor,” Wheeler said.

  “You’ll have plenty of time for that. For now, it is my understanding you wish to enter a plea of not guilty to all charges. Is that correct, Mr. Winslow?” the judge asked.

  “Judge, will you give me a chance to tell you something? This is all a setup. The sheriff is trying to pull one. He is trying to charge me with murder to make himself look good. I didn’t kill anyone,” Winslow said.

  “Hold on here. What is this about? Mr. District Attorney, what are the charges?” asked the judge.

  “Your Honor, charges are as follows: knowingly fleeing an officer, resisting arrest, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. In addition, we have an ongoing investigation regarding the killing of Marcus Johnson. We can put Mr. Winslow at the homicide scene, and he was a known associate of the deceased. However, we are not prepared to charge at this time. We are asking that Tyler Winslow be held without bail.” the DA said.

  “That’s bull, Judge. This is a setup!” Winslow shouted.

  Judge Kritzer waited until Winslow settled down.

  “Are you done, Mr. Winslow? Okay, we will enter a plea of not guilty to all charges, and Tyler Winslow is to be held without bail. Any objections, Attorney Wheeler?”

  Jack Wheeler just shook his head. “No, Your Honor. No objections,” he responded.

  The judge rapped the gavel and stated, “The court is adjourned.”

  Forty-eight hours later, Jack Wheeler requested to meet with me and the DA. We met at the DA’s office.

  Wheeler, who was my friend and neighbor, had a serious look on his face. I knew better than to think our personal relationship would have any bearing on our professional one.

  Wheeler ran the show. “My client may have important information regarding the Marcus Johnson homicide. He has not shared that information with me. His offer is straightforward: he will provide you with this information if you agree to drop all the charges against him,” Wheeler offered.

  “Geez, Jack, a convicted felon drug addict says he may tell us something that may or may not be true, and we drop the charges. We need a little more than that,” I rebuffed.

  “I understand, Sheriff. I am here to float the idea of a deal, as well as one more thing. Stay away from my client unless I am present. He says you have met with him without counsel and threatened him with a murder charge. That stops now,” Jack said.

  “Attorney Wheeler, we are willing to consider all offers. Let us know when you have more to tell us. In the meantime, the Namekagon County Sheriff’s Office, Musky Falls Police Department, and state agents shall continue to investigate the open homicide cases, including the death of Marcus Johnson,” the DA countered.

  Wheeler left, and the DA asked me what I thought.

  “I don’t think that Winslow killed Marcus Johnson or torched the trailer. I think he pulled in at the wrong time. I also think he either knows or has an idea of who did kill Johnson. If he does, then we have got something to work with,” I replied.

  During several visits over the next few days between Tyler Winslow and Jack Wheeler, it became clear to Jack that his client was in a bad situation. While the evidence against him for party to a homicide was largely circumstantial, it had the potential to put him away for a long time. The other charges were solid, and if we went to trial, he would be back in prison before the spring thaw.

  Wheeler called another meeting.

  “My client wants to make a deal. The terms of the deal will require that all current charges against Tyler Winslow are dropped. That is not open for negotiation. In addition, he wants to be put in the witness protection program,” Jack said.

  “What does he have?” asked Hablitch.

  “Tyler Winslow saw the person who killed Marcus Johnson and threw the Molotov cocktail. He knows the perpetrator and can positively identify him. Winslow is willing to testify in court and give a sworn statement. The person he will identify is part of an organized interstate drug gang with a history of violence. It is almost certain the people who killed Marcus Johnson will try to kill him to prevent him from testifying. The information he could provide may go a long way in helping law enforcement with the ongoing homicide investigations. Due to the relationship of the person he is willing to identify with the aforementioned gang and that gang’s easily proven history of violence, he is potentially eligible for the witness protection program. Before we go any further, you need to ask for a determination regarding his eligibility f
or the program.”

  We told him that we would see what we could do and get back to him. An hour later, Ricardo, Len, Hablitch, and I connected with Malone.

  We went over everything again for everyone’s benefit. There was little debate. We had dead bodies all over the place, and trading Tyler Winslow for a murder suspect was progress. Malone had connected with the U.S. Marshals Service.

  “The marshals are on board with evaluating the threat risk for Tyler Winslow. Based on the fact that he is identifying a murder suspect and we have several unsolved murders is going to tip the scales heavily our way. If it turns out that we can connect the killer to something like the Gunther organization, Winslow’s chance for a new life increases significantly,” said Malone.

  Jack Wheeler agreed to a meeting with the DA. They spent hours hammering out an agreement. The charges currently pending would be dropped after Tyler Winslow gave a statement that included the suspect’s positive identification. Since Winslow was a career criminal, the language was very clear about what charges would be dropped and how anything else that came up would be handled.

  Jack Wheeler would not allow his client to give a statement or talk to anyone until the terms of the deal were clear and the agreement signed. Jack sat in an interview room with Tyler Winslow and went over every line. At one point, we asked when they thought they might be ready. Jack answered, “When we are done.” Three hours and a couple of dozen changes later, the agreement was signed by all parties. If Tyler Winslow kept up his end of the bargain, he would be a free man.

  We convened with the court reporter as well as a video and sound recording device. Winslow gave us an in-depth, detailed statement. That day he picked up a load of fentanyl in the Twin Cities that he was supposed to deliver to Marcus Johnson. Tyler was then supposed to get some meth from Johnson to put out on the street. When he pulled into the driveway at Marcus’s trailer, a man standing in the yard turned to face him. The guy had a gun in his hand that he put inside his coat. He and Winslow looked directly at each other. Then he reached down and picked a bottle up off the ground. He held something to it, probably a lighter, and it flamed up. He threw the bottle against the side of Marcus’s trailer, and the whole side of the place burst into flames. The man ran and jumped into the passenger side of a black full-size SUV that took off. Winslow spun his truck around and took off down the road he came in on.

  “Can you identify the individual you saw at Marcus Johnson’s home? The individual who had a gun and threw the firebomb at Johnson’s trailer?” the DA pressed.

  “Yes, I can. It was Randy Muller.”

  “Tyler Winslow, are you prepared to testify in court that you can positively identify Randy Muller as the person that you saw at Marcus Johnson’s residence?” Hablitch asked.

  “Yup, it was him. I’ve known him for a long time. I never got out of the truck, but I could see him just fine. I am pretty sure he knew it was me,” he replied.

  The DA continued his line of questioning.

  “At any time was Randy Muller armed at the Marcus Johnson residence?”

  “Yeah, he had a big pistol in his hand when I drove in.”

  “Did you see Randy Muller fire the gun or hear a gunshot?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “What did Muller do with the gun?”

  “He put it inside his coat.”

  “What did he do then?”

  “He threw a firebomb at Marcus’s place.”

  “More specifically, what exactly did he do?”

  “Oh yeah, he picked up some kind of bottle off the ground and lit it on fire. Then he threw it at Marcus’s place. It started the whole side of the trailer on fire. Then Muller took off running.”

  “Where did he run to?” the DA asked.

  “A black SUV waiting on the other road that goes to Marcus’s place. I saw him get into the passenger side of a black SUV, and the truck took off. So did I, in the opposite direction.”

  “Anything else, Mr. Winslow?”

  “Yeah. I heard the trailer blow up.”

  Tyler Winslow was escorted back to his cell.

  The next few hours were a flurry of activities. First on the agenda was to go over what had been recovered in the previous search incident to Muller’s arrest. Once Muller was in custody and the residence cleared, agents and deputies followed a canine officer and his German Shepard in. According to the report, the dog alerted at two different locations. The first was a heating vent. Tied to one of the fins of the vent was a clear piece of fishing line. The vent was only held in place by one screw. With the screw removed, agents pulled up the line attached to a gallon bag of meth. The next place the dog had alerted was in a closet. A small throw rug covered several floorboards that had been neatly sawed and put back in place. The floorboards had come out easily, and this time the agents seized another plastic bag containing heroin. In addition, a large framed Taurus revolver in a nylon shoulder holster was found under the floorboards. The revolver was chambered in .44 Magnum. Two cell phones, one found in the house and the other in Muller’s pocket, were also seized.

  The time on our initial search warrant for Muller’s residence had expired. The DA quickly drafted an amendment and took it over to the judge to be signed.

  Two agents and two deputies returned to the residence. They secured the premises, which turned out to be unoccupied. They were looking for any items that might tie Muller to the events at Marcus Johnson’s trailer. The search was exhaustive, and when it appeared that they would find nothing of additional value, they began to wrap things up. As an afterthought, one of Ricardo’s people searched the coats hanging in a closet for a second time. But this time, he noticed a black nylon snowmobile type parka with damage to the right sleeve. It wasn’t ripped; it was melted, just like what would happen if a flaming liquid was spilled on it. He turned the cuff inside out, and the fabric had melted through and would have burned the person wearing it. A disposable plastic lighter was found in the left front pocket. He seized and tagged the items.

  Back at the office, we contacted the public defender representing Muller, who said he could meet us at the jail in a couple of hours. It allowed us the time needed to prepare the criminal complaint.

  I cuffed Muller at the waist. During that process, I noted a clear and recent burn scar on his right wrist. Muller and his attorney stayed stone-faced when Hablitch advised them of the new charges. We again advised Muller of his constitutional rights, and he did not respond. We advised the lawyer that we expected to have a preliminary hearing in the next couple of days. Muller remained silent. Then the DA gave Muller’s lawyer a search warrant that allowed officers to examine Muller’s arms. Muller was wearing a short-sleeved jail shirt over a long-sleeved sweatshirt. This was allowed during the colder months. The jailer removed the waist cuffs, and I told Muller to take off both shirts. He did not speak.

  “Randy, you have to comply with their request,” his lawyer said.

  Muller didn’t respond and did not make eye contact.

  “Muller,” I said. “Those shirts are coming off. Either you take them off, or we will by force.”

  He did not respond.

  One of the jailers opened the cell door to let the DA and public defender out to the cell corridor. Muller saw an opportunity to launch an insane attack. He leaped forward, jumping on his public defender, and began viciously slugging him in the head. In a matter of seconds, the lawyer’s glasses were smashed into his face, and he was bleeding profusely from several savage blows.

  We tried to pull Muller off and restrain him, but his strength was animal-like, and no matter what we did, he was focused solely on trying to beat the public defender to death. The DA had the presence of mind to hit the jail alarm, and a deputy and state trooper came in from the driveway and joined the melee. It stopped as suddenly as it began, and Muller slumped to the floor like a rag doll, conscious, unresponsive, but smiling. We cuffed his hands and feet without resistance. The jailer brought up a restraint chair, and we al
l were relieved when he was strapped in.

  Our part-time jail nurse, who was checking on another inmate, was summoned to the area. If the amount of blood pouring out of the public defender was any indication of the severity of his injuries, he was in bad shape. She started an examination and immediately told the jailer to get EMS forthwith.

  The public defender was transported to the hospital.

  Despite what just happened, we continued with the service of the search warrant for two reasons. First, it was during the attempted service of the warrant that the attack began, and we would have to document everything that had happened. Second, we needed to do whatever necessary to obtain the evidence we were looking for.

  I took a pair of medical scissors and began to cut away Muller’s shirt. I didn’t have to go far. On his right wrist and forearm was a relatively recent burn. The location was consistent with what he may have gotten when the sleeve of his coat caught on fire.

  I called the hospital to check on the condition of the lawyer. It was serious. The blows from Randy Muller had broken his eyeglasses, and pieces had been driven into his eye. Dr. May was at a loss when he tried to find an ophthalmologist anywhere within one hundred miles of Musky Falls, and Medflight was out on transport. Then Dr. Chali showed up and had a potential solution. An ophthalmologist close to Musky Falls had stopped by the hospital to visit and had run into Chali. She was from Houston, Texas, but had strong ties to Namekagon County and had a family lodge on Gillich’s Bay. After she left, Dr. Chali did what any self-respecting person would do; he Googled her. It seems that Dr. Orengo was not just any ophthalmologist; she was a world-renowned eye surgeon. Dr. Chali had a business card with a mobile phone number, but there would be no cellular service for sure at Gillich’s Bay.