Marc and at least twelve other people got off the overflowing elevator on the fourteenth floor. The mob headed toward the hallway and Judge Koch’s courtroom. Marc went to the inner hall security doors and pressed the buzzer to notify a deputy. A few seconds later a deputy opened the door and let him in.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Kadella. Come in,” the deputy said.
“Hello, Shirley. Big crowd today?”
“Full house,” she replied.
Marc went into the courtroom through the judge’s door then placed his briefcase on the table nearest the jury box. Knowing the trial would take place here, he wanted to stake out his claim to that table. A few minutes later he sat down at the table in the juror’s room across from Howie.
“Did you talk to Father John about the gloves?” Howie asked.
“Yeah, a couple of weeks ago, why? I thought I told you. He backs up your claim that you told him they’d been stolen and he told the police.”
“Sorry, I’m nervous. I couldn’t remember if you told me that,” Howie said.
“It’s okay. Relax. This is not the trial. It’s a hearing to look at probable cause, some evidentiary problems and a couple motions.”
“What if the judge decides they didn’t have probable cause?” Howie asked.
“Then you walk. Don’t hold your breath. She won’t second guess the grand jury,” Marc answered. “But it’s also an opportunity to look at their evidence. They’ll have to put a couple people on the stand to testify.”
“Who?”
“I’m guessing the lead cop, Owen Jefferson, the medical examiner and someone from the BCA to testify about the hair.”
There was a knock on the door, a deputy looked in and told them Steve Gondeck had arrived. Marc and Howie went into the courtroom and a slight buzz went through the crowd. Because Marc knew the media would be in full attendance he made sure Howie looked presentable. Marc again provided him with tan khakis, a blue-button down dress shirt, clean socks and brown loafers.
Marc had filed pleadings to support the motions to be decided today. Gondeck had also filed his pleadings to counter Marc’s requests and to argue for an aggravated sentence in the event of a guilty verdict. Gondeck wanted the judge to go way beyond the prison time the sentencing guidelines recommended in the event of a second-degree murder conviction. If there was a first-degree conviction, Traynor would receive an immediate sentence of life without parole.
Owen Jefferson was the first witness. He was called because Marc wanted the evidence obtained from the roof of Howie’s apartment excluded. Jefferson testified about searching the janitor’s closet and how he found the stairs to the roof.
When Jefferson finished, Marc argued the search of the entire building was illegal. First he argued the search warrant for Howie’s apartment was not obtained by sufficient probable cause. This was quickly dismissed. He then tried to convince the judge that the search warrant did not cover the janitor’s closet.
Attached to his pleadings was case law he found to support his argument. Gondeck had submitted more accurate case law to validate the search. It came down to the fact that the police were legally in the building. Given that fact, the unlocked closet was a common area in which Howie Traynor had no personal expectation of privacy and the search was valid. Judge Koch quickly dismissed Marc’s argument.
The rest of the hearing was spent with testimony from the M.E., Clyde Marston and a tech from the BCA. Marston testified about the autopsy results of each victim and the cause of death. The BCA tech told the judge about the hair samples and the likelihood of a match to anyone other than Howie Traynor, roughly one in twelve million. Marc watched and quietly listened to the strength of the prosecution’s witnesses and evidence. When his turn to cross-examine them came, not wanting to show the prosecution anything, he passed on both.
After the testimony was finished and the judge found sufficient probable cause, the lawyers argued about Marc’s change of venue motion. At times the exchange even became a bit heated. Due to the media coverage Marc had a strong argument to make. But he also had the burden of proving to the judge that his client could not obtain a fair trial in Hennepin County. Gondeck argued successfully that finding twelve jurors and several alternates who had not followed the case would not be as difficult as it seemed. In the end, Koch ruled against the defense.
Finally, the hearing concluded after the argument about an aggravated sentence. Gondeck wanted an upward departure and consecutive sentencing on each charge. He argued the exceptional cruelty clearly backed him up.
Judge Koch told the lawyers she would take it under advisement and did not rule on it. Gondeck didn’t seem to care. He got what he wanted. A little more publicity about the exceptionally vicious nature of the murders and the suffering the victims went through.
“Is your client willing to waive his right to a speedy trial?” Judge Koch asked Marc.
“No, your Honor, he is not,” Marc replied.
“Very well. I’ll see the lawyers next Thursday at 10:00 A.M. for a scheduling conference. Will that work for you?”
Both lawyers answered affirmatively and the hearing concluded.
While the media hurried out to file their reports and the crowd dwindled, Marc met with Howie in the jury room again.
“We didn’t do too good today,” Howie glumly stated.
“About what I thought we’d get,” Marc replied. “We did better than you think. I got some information today I didn’t have before and some statements made under oath that we can use. This is just round one. We have a long way to go.”
“Why didn’t you want to waive a speedy trial?” Howie asked.
“You like sitting in jail?”
“No, you’re right. I was just wondering.”
“Mostly because I didn’t want to give them more time to find more evidence. Some of these charges are weak. If we can convince the jury they overcharged hoping something would stick they might get pissed at the prosecution. Who knows? We’ll see but we might as well get at it.”
They rose to leave, shook hands and Howie ruefully said, “At least I’ll get back in time to see that woman on TV, Melinda what’s-her-name…”
“Pace,” Marc said.
“Yeah, her. I’ll get back in time to see her slander and convict me on TV some more.”
While Owen Jefferson was on the witness stand the phone in his pocket vibrated. In fact, it went off four more times before he finished testifying and was dismissed.
When he reached the hallway he checked it and saw the same number for all five calls. He put the phone to his ear, listened to the message and returned the call.
“What’s up, Scott?” Jefferson asked the man who had made the calls, Detective Scott Brown.
“We got a homicide here you’ll want to see.” Brown gave him a quick description and the location. Jefferson assured him he would be there as quickly as possible.
Jefferson took a minute to call Marcie Sterling to tell her about what he had been told. She agreed to get their department-issued car and pick him up. Less than twenty minutes after speaking with Detective Brown, Jefferson and Marcie were at the scene.
Marcie parked on the south Minneapolis street a half block from the crime scene. They passed through the yellow tape at the mouth of the alley and quickly walked to the small crowd of cops and forensic techs.
“Hey, Owen. Hi, Marcie,” Scott Brown greeted them.
“Scott, Aaron,” Jefferson said in return to Brown and his partner, Detective Aaron Hernandez as he and Marcie snapped on protective gloves.
“Recognize this?” Hernandez asked while he held up a man’s driver’s license.
Jefferson and Marcie read the name and Jefferson said, “Eugene Parlow. Your vic is Eugene Parlow? The Eugene Parlow on our whiteboard?”
“Take a look, you tell me,” Brown suggested.
Jefferson and Marcie went over to where a CSU tech was kneeling in between two dumpsters. The CSU saw them and stood to give the two detect
ives an unobstructed view of the body.
Lying on his back, his dead eyes still open staring blankly at the sky, was an obviously dead Eugene Parlow. There were two bloody spots on his gray T-shirt and a hole in his forehead with a trickle of blood leaking from it.
“That’s him,” Marcie said while Jefferson knelt to examine the body. “That’s our Eugene Parlow.”
“Three gunshot wounds,” Maggie Dayton, the M.E. on scene said. “Two in the chest, one in the forehead. They appear to be nine millimeter.”
“Professional,” Jefferson said as he stood. “This was no gangbanger.”
“And he wasn’t killed here,” Dayton added referring to the lack of blood at the scene.
“No, he wasn’t,” Jefferson agreed.
“Owen,” Scott Brown said, “I need to show you something.”
Jefferson and Marcie followed Brown a few feet across the alley.
“This,” Brown said pointing at a heavy canvass bag, the size of a gym bag, lying on the ground. “Look inside.”
The two detectives knelt next to it, Jefferson unzipped and opened the bag. They looked inside at the objects it contained and Jefferson softly said, “Jesus Christ. What the hell…”
They continued to kneel while Jefferson moved a couple of the items in the bag to examine the others. A minute or so later he stood up.
“Scott, Aaron,” he said to his fellow detectives. Jefferson took a deep breath while Marcie continued to check out the items in the bag he said, “Treat this like any other homicide. Bag and tag this,” he continued pointing at the canvas bag and its contents. “But keep quiet about it, for now.”
“Owen, we have to put it in our report…” Hernandez started to protest.
“I know,” Jefferson said holding up a hand. “Do what you have to do. Just don’t advertise it. I need to talk to the county attorney and let him know what we found.”
“Slocum?” Marcie asked.
“No,” Jefferson shook his head. “Steve Gondeck.”
FORTY-THREE
Jefferson waited with increasing impatience in the reception area to the county attorney offices. He looked up at the clock for at least the tenth time, annoyed with the realization he had been waiting almost an hour. Two minutes later, seconds before he was going to look at the clock again, Steve Gondeck appeared.
“I’m really sorry, Owen,” he apologized as the two men shook hands. “Right after you called I got a call from a judge I had to go see. I didn’t think it would take this long. Come on back,” he explained as he held the door for the detective.
On their way back to the Gondeck’s office he whispered to Jefferson, “Slocum wants to sit in.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“It’s never good,” Gondeck answered.
Craig Slocum was the elected Hennepin County Attorney. At one time he was a successful civil litigator in private practice who decided to go into politics. A closet Republican, he had joined the Democrat party in order to win the election in Hennepin County. His ambition to obtain the Governor’s mansion had suffered a severe blow a couple years back. A high profile case involving the murder of the current governor’s daughter had landed on his desk. To further his political ambitions, Slocum tried the case himself only to have it blow up in his face. Ever since then the defense lawyer who had done this to him was, to Slocum, public enemy number one. The defense lawyer’s name was Marc Kadella.
The murder of Eugene Parlow the day before had barely made the news. The Star Tribune ran a small story on page seven of the Metro section making it sound like a drug deal, motorcycle gang killing. So far, no one in the media had made the connection between Parlow and Howie Traynor. Jefferson called Gondeck with the news and they decided to keep a lid on it as long as possible.
“We’re in my office,” Jefferson heard Gondeck say into his desk phone. “Okay, we’ll wait.”
Less than a minute later, Slocum joined the two men waiting for him in Gondeck’s office.
“Should I have Jennifer join us?” Gondeck asked Slocum referring to another prosecutor, Jennifer Moore. “She’s going to second chair this case.”
“No,” Slocum emphatically said. “We can fill her in later. Now, Detective, Steve tells me you say you have some important evidence to discuss with us.”
“Yes, sir,” Jefferson began. For the next twenty minutes, while the two lawyers asked questions, Jefferson filled them in on the murder of Eugene Parlow. He concluded with a description of what was found in the canvas bag in the alley near the body.
When Jefferson finished Gondeck turned his attention to Slocum and started to say, “We have to tell…”
Slocum held up a hand to cut him off and stop him.
“Do you have anything else, Detective?” Slocum politely asked.
“No, sir.”
“Let me ask you,” Slocum continued. “Do you have any evidence conclusively tying the bag and its contents to this Parlow person? Any fingerprints, DNA, hair samples? Anything at all?”
“Um, no. I don’t think so. At least not yet,” Jefferson answered a bit puzzled.
Slocum stood up and said, “Thank you, Detective. I need to discuss this with Steve alone. I’m sure you understand?”
“Sure, no problem,” Jefferson replied.
Slocum opened the office door for him, shook his hand and said, “Keep this quiet for now. Thanks again and be sure to let us know if anything else comes up.”
Slocum returned to the chair he was using, looked at Gondeck and said, “You were about to say?”
“We need to inform Traynor’s lawyer about this,” Gondeck said.
“No, we don’t.”
“Yes, Craig, we do,” Gondeck said with unmistakable emphasis. “It’s exculpatory evidence and we have an ethical obligation to tell him.”
“I disagree. How do we know the bag belonged to this Parlow person? It was found on the other side of the ally. There is nothing to tie it or its contents to Parlow. No, it’s my decision and we will not inform Kadella about it and that’s final.”
“Craig, you need to get past this hard-on you have for Marc Kadella and act like a professional.”
“Stop! You don’t need to lecture me about my professional obligation,” Slocum interrupted him, the tension between them rising rapidly. More calmly Slocum said, “Look, Steve, if the police come up with something more positive to tie the bag to Parlow, we’ll revisit the subject. Until then, my decision stands.”
Gondeck stared at his boss for several seconds then said, “Okay. It’s your call but you’re about to get an email from me spelling out my objections to the decision. If anybody gets jammed up over this, it’s not going to be me.”
“That’s not necessary,” an obviously annoyed Slocum replied.
“Yes, it is. I’m going to cover my ass on this one,” Gondeck said.
“Very well, that’s your prerogative,” Slocum replied more calmly. “I believe I’m on solid legal ground. We do not have to disclose any of this to Kadella. Especially since the method of Parlow’s murder is so different than the others.”
“One other thing,” Gondeck said. “I almost forgot. Kadella is requesting copies of the police surveillance records of Traynor, Aaron Forsberg and Parlow. He believes these may also be exculpatory.”
“No, they are confidential police work product. Fight him in court over them. Make him prove they are or may be exculpatory.”
“We’re going to lose that, Craig,” Gondeck patiently explained. “Those records are exculpatory.”
“He can argue it in court on a motion or at trial. I will not help this guy any more than is absolutely necessary.”
Early the next day, Marc Kadella was in his office on the phone with Tony Carvelli.
“What makes you think I did surveillance of Howie Traynor?” Tony coyly asked.
“Tony, don’t do this. Don’t try to blow smoke up my ass like this. I’m having enough trouble with Slocum’s office getting discovery. Ask Vivian if it�
�s okay to give me the records. I know you, I know you’re meticulous and you kept a running log of it. If Vivian objects it’s okay. I’ll get a subpoena or a court order if I have to.”
Carvelli thought it over then said, “I’ll get back to you.”
“Today?” Marc asked.
“As soon as I can. Let me call her.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Marc went back to the motion pleadings he was working on. A scheduling conference was coming up next week. The prosecution was not providing any discovery of the evidence such as autopsy reports, DNA results, nothing. In the meantime he was seeing these things reported on TV and in the newspapers. Knowing Steve Gondeck and having tried several cases with him, Marc believed it wasn’t him. It was Slocum who was doing this.
Marc’s office intercom buzzed and when he answered it, Carolyn said, “Gabriella Shriqui is on the phone. Do you want to talk to her?”
“What does she want?”
“Didn’t say. Should I put her through?”
“Sure,” Marc said setting aside the papers he was working on. “I’ll give her a few minutes.”
“Hello, Marc,” Gabriella said.
“What’s up? And this phone call is off the record. I won’t talk about Howard Traynor,” Marc said.
“That’s not why I’m calling…”
“I still don’t have time to help you with your ticking biological clock problem either.”
“What?” Gabriella asked, confused by Marc’s statement. “Oh, I remember. I’m going to kill Maddy for telling you that.”
While Marc laughed Gabriella continued by saying, “I called to find out if the Eugene Parlow in this morning’s paper is the same guy as the one who was released from prison because of a doctored DNA test. Do you know anything about it?”
“What are you talking out?”
“In this morning’s Strib, in the Metro section on page six. A Eugene Parlow was found murdered in an alley in south Minneapolis yesterday.”
A stunned Marc Kadella didn’t respond with the news. Finally, Gabriella said, “Marc are you there?”
“Um, yeah. Ah, I was just thinking,” he said.
Marc Kadella Legal Mysteries Vol 1-6 (Marc Kadella Series) Page 165
