Tribes of Time, page 15
“Really, I’ve wired funds to Sweden and they received the funds in less than 15 minutes, and that’s with a nine hour time difference.” The supervisor seeing his teller getting flustered decided to take over.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation sir, the funds have now cleared and a receipt is being drafted for you.” Nilsson looked at the man with disgust and told him as much.
“I’ll be communicating with the FDIC and Treasury Department about this little façade you’re doing here, I’m sure they’d love to crawl up your asses in audits.” Nilsson finally got his proof of funds transfer, then he and Michaelson walked out of the Credit Union. As they were walking out the Supervisor said.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience sir! Anyway I can make it up to you; just let me know.” He wasn’t sure if Nilsson’s threat was bona fide, and he did have some shaky transactions he couldn’t account for. The two men walked over and posted Haines and Cyrus’ bail.
CHAPTER 20
DUDGEON
“W
hat the fuck just happened in there, we just got our asses handed to us! I’m the goddamn Assistant State Attorney and I just got waxed like a plebe.” Milford said as he snatched open the door to Terrance’s office and flung his attaché onto the couch. Terrance followed him into his own office and had no answer for him. Milford plopped down in Terrance’s chair, then jumped up immediately, cognizant of their cease fire. Terrance walked behind his desk and sat down.
“I don’t have an answer for you Winston; these boys are here to play hardball.”
“You don’t say Terrance.” Milford sarcastically replied.
“How do you want to proceed with this? We have evidence that places Haines on scene and there really was no other reason for him being there. Then there is the Cyrus issue we have to deal with.” Milford was processing the information in his head out loud and wasn’t seeking a response. Terrance knew this and didn’t attempt to reply.
“This opening statement isn’t going to write itself, let’s get started Terrance.” The men sat down at the conference table and began formulating an outline of their opening statement and expert witness list. Nilsson and Michaelson arrived back at the Sheriff’s office just as Haines and Cyrus were being released from custody.
“What took you guys so long at the bank?” Roderick inquired.
“I think they were trying to stall until the banks closed, it’s Friday and if we hadn’t of gotten the transfer Haines and Cyrus would’ve remained in custody until Monday.”
“He’s not lying; the banks close at 2:00 pm on Fridays here in Ocelia, so the families can get a jump start on their weekends.” Cyrus added.
“Let’s get the hell out of town before someone decides to close us out.” With that everyone loaded up in the rental car and headed back to the Davies farm. The drive back was not wasted on small talk, Roderick wanted to send a second volley over the heads of Milford.
“How’s that Change of Venue coming along?” he asked while continuing to drive.
“It’s completed and just waiting to be served.”
“Okay, we’ll wait until about 3:45pm and go file it with the Dockets Clerk, that won’t give them enough time to making blocking maneuvers and assures us it will be on Monday’s docket.”
The rest of Ocelia was not sitting idle waiting for the smoke to clear from the legal fuselage. There were council meeting asking for Judge Von Brugge’s censure for allowing bail for Haines and Cyrus. Another group, the Legacy of the Confederacy started a petition to bring in representatives that were “Friendly” to their cause to help Milford and Terrance prepare the prosecution. The black folks in town were also having meeting disguised as church services; the content of those meetings were to form defense leagues to protect themselves, and to provide security around the Davies farm. They believed outsiders will start filtering into Cumberland County who wouldn’t be under the auspices of Vernon; therefore harder to control. Throughout the weekend everyone was on edge waiting for the powder keg to explode. Haines and the team stayed on the farm and didn’t venture past the lane for their safety; which was unfounded since Vernon had given the dictum to stay clear of them until after the trial. Monday rolled around without any memorable events and it appeared it was going to be another liaise southern day. Roderick and the legal team void Haines were already at the Docket’s Clerk window by 7:00 am. The office didn’t officially open until 7:30 am, but they wanted to be first in line. The clerk eventually opened up the window and Roderick stepped forward.
“I have a motion to file for today’s docket.” He said as he handed her the necessary paperwork. The clerk read through them making sure all of the forms were there and complete. She then informed Roderick to have a seat and the Bailiff would let them know when and if the Judge would hear his motion. The legal team waited outside of the courtroom watching the Traffic Court people enter to have their tickets adjudicated or dismissed. After the minor morning proceedings were done, the Bailiff stepped out of the courtroom door and bellowed the docket number assigned to Roderick’s motion. Roderick and the legal team entered into the courtroom and took up their position at the defendant’s podium. Apparently, the clerk had given Terrance a heads up before the motion was delivered to the Judge. Both he and Milford were standing at the Prosecution table and were whispering between themselves. Roderick had expected Terrance to be there because he was the County Prosecuting Attorney. Judge Von Brugge rapped his gavel and stated court was in order; he then asked Roderick to proceed with his motion. Roderick gave Nilsson the nod to proceed.
“Sir if I may approach the bench.” Nilsson asked
“You may Counselor.” Judge Von Brugge responded. Nilsson then took out his “Motion for Change of Venue-Improper Venue” brief and walked up and handed it to the Judge. He then walked back to his podium and began his argument. As Nilsson was beginning his argument, the Bailiff walked over and gave the petition to Milford to review while he listened to the argument.
“Your Honor…..Mr. Davis and Mr. Johnson assert they cannot receive a fair and impartial trial in Cumberland County because of the sheer number of citizens in this community who have indicated a prejudice and bias against them and who have presumably expressed their prejudices and biases to the other Cumberland County residents who will serve on the jury. Thus, Mr. Davies and Mr. Johnson request that this court transfer this case to another venue. As required by rule 21(b), TENN.R.Crim.P. and as recognized in State v. Hendrickson 131 S.W 3d700, 311 (TENN 2003) this motion is accompanied by affidavits demonstrating the prejudice.” Judge Von Brugge just sat back in his chair with his hands clasped in his lap. He looked over towards Milford and Terrance for a rebuttal.
“Your Honor, this motion is an attempt to draw attention away from Mr. Nilsson’s clients and place blame on the citizen’s of Cumberland County. I believe and can assure a fair and impartial trial. I personally will prosecute this case, and will not impunge the office of the State Attorney by unfair or illegal practices.” Judge Von Brugge finished listening to both arguments and said he’d retire to his chambers before making his decision. The Bailiff stood in front of the bench and announced.
“All rise, the Honorable Judge Grotis Von Brugge will be vacating the bench.” Everyone in the courtroom stood until Von Brugge had entered his chambers. Milford walked over to Roderick’s defense team seething for what he felt like was a blind side.
“Is this how you play ball in Washington DC? Down here we play everything above board.”
“I’ve done everything above board, and abhor the implication that we haven’t. What have I done that you would deem unfair?” Milford had no answer for the questioned posed to him. Both men went back to their sides of the courtroom to await the Judge’s decision; which was a relatively short wait of ten minutes. Again the Bailiff performed his scripted announcement of the Judge’s return. Judge Von Brugge began his ruling.
“After careful review of the affidavits provided and as a resident of Cumberland County, I have not found anything that would hinder the seating of an impartial juror. Mr. Nilsson your Motion for Change of Venue is denied.” With that he concluded his decision with the pounding of his gavel. Milford and Terrance shook hands ecstatically and began to leave the court room when they were stopped by Roderick.
“Gentlemen, may I have a word with you?” Milford feeling smug from his recent minor victory agreed to meet.
“Meet us in Mr. McClendon’s office in half an hour.” Roderick thanked him and the team started walking over to Terrance’s office to await them. Milford spoke with Terrance for a brief moment before going into the Judge’s chamber through a back door. What they were discussing, Terrance didn’t want to know. Roderick and the team were sitting down in the lobby of Terrance’s office when he and Milford walked in with their assistants. Terrance ushered them into his office conference room, where each man took a seat.
“What can we do for you Mr. Sprewell?” Milford asked.
“We received the preliminary reports and the findings of the DNA during discovery, thanks for sending those over by the way.”
“Your welcomed” Terrance responded.
“As I was saying, we found several points of contention. From what we’ve discovered you only have circumstantial evidence against Mr. Davies. With that in mind, I have a proposition for you.”
“Hmm….sounds ominous.” Milford said sarcastically. Terrance shot Milford a look and Milford caught the hint.
“What’s your proposition Mr. Sprewell?” Terrance asked.
“We’re proposing that the charges be dropped against Mr. Davies. This is how I see it going. If you don’t drop the charges against Mr. Davies, we’ll petition for severance of the case. You’ll be forced to try Cyrus first since he is the catalyst in this whole thing. You know that it’s a very weak case against him at best. If you lose that case then your case against Mr. Johnson is shot to hell.” Roderick knew he had them at this point, Milford was no idiot. Milford would have to concede that the men were out there to beat Cyrus up in open court; which would set Haines up for a self defense plea.
“Give us a day to mull this over, I have your number and will call you once we’ve made our decision.” Terrance said as he stood to indicate to Roderick’s team the discussion was over. He bid them a good afternoon and watched them exit the building through the office window.
“I hate to admit it Winston, they are absolutely correct. We don’t have shit on Cyrus other than evidence pointing to the fact he was being assaulted. Are you prepared to throw both cases away to make a point? You can go back to the capitol, I still have to live here when the dust settles”
Milford paced the room back and forth realizing he’d again been cornered into making an unpopular decision. The first was letting Cyrus and Haines go free until the DNA findings proved them culpable; now that same evidence may free one of them.
“What the fuck, just do it. We can always get Cyrus later; he isn’t going anywhere. But don’t call them until mid-morning tomorrow; let them sweat a little bit.”
CHAPTER 21
CHANGE OF VENUE
T
he Davies house was sedulous with activity, the legal team was hard at work drafting new motions along with Haines; hopefully the lone defendant now. Cyrus and Ella were outside busily doing their chores. Half of the battle had been waged and so far team Sprewell was winning. Nilsson was still feeling the sting of having his motion denied by Judge Von Brugge and definitely wanted to avenge that loss. He and Michaelson were brainstorming while searching through Tennessee’s case law for a remedy, when Michaelson remembered something from their day of fishing.
“I think we may have found a way to get the venue changed.” He blurted out. Nilsson stopped reading and asked what would make him think that.
“Remember the fishing hole we were at?”
“Of course I do, it was just the other day. How could I forget?” Nilsson replied
“Cyrus said the slough was part of an old military base, Camp Alabastar I believe he called it.” Nilsson immediately searched the internet for any information he could about this Camp Alabastar.
“Michaelson you’re a genius! The camp was decommissioned in 1931, but still falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. The land is only leased to the state of Tennessee.” Michaelson and Nilsson left the sitting room and walked over to the kitchen where Roderick and Haines were working.
“Rod, I think we may have a way to get this case heard outside of Cumberland County.” Roderick and Haines looked at the men like they had been smoking wacky weed.
“And how do you suppose we do that? Judge Von Brugge has already shot down our petition.” Haines replied. Nilsson left the room briefly and came back with his iPad and placed it on the table between Roderick and Haines; he then began explaining how they could get a change of venue.
“You guys remember the other day when we were talking about that area we were fishing in? Well, Michaelson remembered Cyrus had mentioned it at one point had been a military base.”
“Yeah and?” Roderick questioned
“Well, our good fortune is what! The base was only leased to the state in 1931 and not given to the state; which still makes it Federal jurisdiction.” Roderick turned the iPad around to face him and continued a more in depth research on the base, and how many acreages it consisted of. He discovered the base encompassed the entire area where the killings took place and some parcels closer to Ocelia.
“Muthafucka! This is better than finding Noah’s Ark. You two start drafting another Change of Venue motion and we’ll drive over to Knoxville and file in the Appellate Courts.”
“Should we let Milford and McClendon know; it falls under discovery?”
“Are you crazy, they still haven’t gotten back to us about dropping the charges against Cyrus?” Michaelson and Nilsson worked through the morning until around 1:30 pm, and then headed the 80 miles over to the appellate Courts to file their Motion. The men were informed the Appellants would review their case and if needed, call them back along with the Cumberland County Prosecutor the following day. With no reason to stay in Knoxville, the men began the drive back to Ocelia. During their absence Milford had called and agreed to drop the charges against Cyrus if Haines agreed to plead guilty.
“My client will not plead guilty to murder; the closest you’ll get is that he’ll admit to killing them in self defense.” Roderick stated in regards to Milford’s offer.
“Self Defense, Are you kidding me? If you’d like to go see the bodies, I’d be more than glad to take you to see them. That was over kill by any measure.”
“I hear you Mr. Milford, but they got what they deserved. I’ll take my chances in court.” Roderick said.
“I’m just going to try both of them then; you can forget my original offer.”
“I was hoping you’d say that, I’d love nothing more than to put the entire town of Ocelia on the stand. Cyrus is my ace in the hole because he’s lived here his entire life and has a litany of stories and firsthand accounts to bolster my self defense.” Milford paused before answering Roderick’s statement.
“Okay I think we’re regressing here. I’ll drop the charges against Cyrus as originally agreed upon. But the self defense plea may back fire on you. I’ll see you in court.” Milford hung up the phone and swiped the contents of his desk onto the floor. He was not about to let his home county be splayed open and dissected by this city attorney. He figured he’d convict Haines and let Vernon loose on Cyrus after a nominal period of time for things to get back to normal. While standing there still fuming, the phone rang, it was the Appellate Courts clerk asking for his presence the following morning to respond to Roderick’s Change of Venue-Jurisdiction Motion. After hanging up the phone Milford just plopped down in his chair staring out of the window, he’d never faced such a tenacious opponent and he realized he definitely had to bring his “A” game. It had been years since taking office that he’d actually tried a case himself. Roderick received a similar call and he had the legal team packed up so they could drive back to Knoxville; he needed to be sharp the next morning and felt he could get a better night’s sleep being in Knoxville and not having to wake up two hours early. He informed Cyrus and Miss Ella that they wouldn’t be there for dinner, and he would see them the next day. Ella went into the kitchen and packed a goody basket for them to eat along the way or save for dinner later that night.
“This here is enough for all y’all.” She said as she handed Nilsson the basket full of food. Nilsson lifted the wicker basket’s cover and took a deep whiff of the food.
“Miss Ella as always, you’ve out done yourself.” Ella thanked him, and she and Cyrus walked them out to the edge of the porch.
“Fill up on gas before y’all leave, that way y’all won’t have to make any stops. Things are heating up around c’here” Ella advised as the men were loading their overnight bags in the trunk of the rental vehicle.
“Don’t worry Miss Ella; we filled up before we came back from Knoxville and have more than half a tank left”. Michaelson said to make her feel at ease, but she knew the drive itself could be treacherous until they left Cumberland County. Both Cyrus and Ella watched as the men drove down the lane and disappeared onto the highway. They went back to doing their chores and prayed that it wouldn’t be a fruitless endeavor. Meanwhile, Milford and Terrance were also preparing to make their drive over to Knoxville. Milford called his wife saying they would be arriving in about two hours and for her to set up the guest bedroom for Terrance. He was still ruminating about the rapid fire maneuvering of Roderick’s legal team. Things usually moved a little slower in his region; and he was definitely set back on his heels. He called Terrance to see if he was packed and ready to travel.
“How much more time do you need, I’m ready to roll out when you are.”
“I’m ready too. I’ll need to stop by the office to pick up some things before we leave though.”
