SRP76
24-Aug-2009, 05:22 PM
I happened upon this case in my news browsings:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1182921.html
By JANE MUSGRAVE
Palm Beach Post
The youngest of four men charged in the bone-chilling rape of a 35-year-old West Palm Beach woman and her 12-year-old son pleaded guilty Wednesday morning.
Avion Lawson, who was 14 when the woman and her son were gang raped in her apartment in 2007, wants to accept responsibility for his actions, his attorney told Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx.
"He's very sorry for what he did," attorney Bert Winkler said.
Lawson's fingerprints were on a wall and his DNA was in a condom left at the woman's apartment.
The 16-year-old has agreed to testify against the three others charged in the rape -- two of whom are to go to trial Tuesday.
However, while his cooperation may win him some points with Marx, there are no guarantees, Winkler admitted.
Lawson, 16, faces a maximum 11 life sentences plus 50 years, according to sentencing guidelines. While Marx has broad discretion when she sentences him on Oct. 13, he faces a minimum of 49 years in prison.
Marx repeatedly warned Lawson that she could sentence him to life in prison.
"Yes, ma'am," Lawson answered softly each time Marx asked him whether he understood the consequences of pleading guilty to 14 charges in connection with the rape that shocked the community in both its brutality and the tender ages of those charged.
Lawson's mother, Kathy, stood by him as he admitted his guilt. While stoic in front of the judge, she collapsed in tears outside the courtroom after her son was led back to jail by sheriff's deputies.
According to police, as many as 10 young men entered the apartment of a woman identified in court papers only as M.D. and her son, identified as C.J. They raped her repeatedly, making her son watch, police said. They then forced the two to engage in sexual activity. Finally, they dumped chemicals on the two and fled, after stealing the woman's cellphone and car, and ripping their home phone out of the wall.
The two walked to Good Samaritan Medical Center in the middle of the night to seek treatment, prosecutors said.
Two others accused of the rape who are to be tried beginning Tuesday are: Tommy Poindexter, 20, and Nathan Walker, 18. While they will be tried together, they will have separate juries.
Jakaris Taylor, 17, who was to be tried with Lawson, is to face a jury in September.
Prosecutors acknowledged that all involved are not in custody.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/breaking-news/story/1191244.html
By JANE MUSGRAVE
PALM BEACH POST
More than two years after a Dunbar Village woman was gang raped while her 12-year-old son was forced to watch, dozens of county residents will be asked Tuesday whether they can impartially judge two of the young men accused in the attack.
By the end of the week, prosecutors and attorneys representing Tommy Poindexter, 20, and Nathan Walker, 18, hope to have selected 26 jurors to consider the evidence. While the two will be tried together, separate juries will consider their fates.
The enormous media attention paid to the brutal rape is expected to make it difficult to find jurors who haven't made up their minds about the case. Testimony is not expected to begin until next Monday.
A surprise witness was deposed for roughly five hours Monday. Avion Lawson, 16, went from defendant to witness last week when he pleaded guilty to 14 charges and agreed to testify against Poindexter, Walker and Jakaris Taylor, 17, who is to be tried next month. Lawson, like the others, faces a possible life sentence.
Attorney Robert Gershman, who represents Walker, said he intends to call Lawson as a witness.
"I think he would help in my defense," he said Monday after the nearly daylong deposition wrapped up.
In the past, he has said that claims Lawson made in jailhouse letters and in statements to police were often contradictory and clashed with the evidence.
Prosecutors and public defender Carey Haughwout have consistently declined comment.
The 35-year-old woman is expected to testify during the trial, which is expected to take about seven days. Citing the potential psychological harm of forcing the boy to confront his attackers, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Krista Marx agreed he could testify via closed circuit television.
Identified in court papers only as M.D., the 35-year-old and her son were tortured for hours in their apartment by as many as 10 young men and boys, police said. In addition to being raped and beaten, they were forced to perform a sex act with each other. Before fleeing, their assailants doused them with cleaning solvents in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
Police said they discovered Lawson's DNA on a condom and his fingerprints in the woman's bedroom. DNA taken from stains on the woman's dress were linked to Poindexter and Walker.
In letters, both have blamed the other, claiming they never intended to hurt the woman or her son but were forced to do so by others in the group.
Trial is supposed to begin tomorrow.
Now, I want to know why in hell it takes TWO YEARS to bring this to trial. What the fuck were they waiting for?!
And they STILL don't have all the attackers in custody?! What the fuck is up with that? You've had two years to arrest these people!
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1182921.html
By JANE MUSGRAVE
Palm Beach Post
The youngest of four men charged in the bone-chilling rape of a 35-year-old West Palm Beach woman and her 12-year-old son pleaded guilty Wednesday morning.
Avion Lawson, who was 14 when the woman and her son were gang raped in her apartment in 2007, wants to accept responsibility for his actions, his attorney told Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx.
"He's very sorry for what he did," attorney Bert Winkler said.
Lawson's fingerprints were on a wall and his DNA was in a condom left at the woman's apartment.
The 16-year-old has agreed to testify against the three others charged in the rape -- two of whom are to go to trial Tuesday.
However, while his cooperation may win him some points with Marx, there are no guarantees, Winkler admitted.
Lawson, 16, faces a maximum 11 life sentences plus 50 years, according to sentencing guidelines. While Marx has broad discretion when she sentences him on Oct. 13, he faces a minimum of 49 years in prison.
Marx repeatedly warned Lawson that she could sentence him to life in prison.
"Yes, ma'am," Lawson answered softly each time Marx asked him whether he understood the consequences of pleading guilty to 14 charges in connection with the rape that shocked the community in both its brutality and the tender ages of those charged.
Lawson's mother, Kathy, stood by him as he admitted his guilt. While stoic in front of the judge, she collapsed in tears outside the courtroom after her son was led back to jail by sheriff's deputies.
According to police, as many as 10 young men entered the apartment of a woman identified in court papers only as M.D. and her son, identified as C.J. They raped her repeatedly, making her son watch, police said. They then forced the two to engage in sexual activity. Finally, they dumped chemicals on the two and fled, after stealing the woman's cellphone and car, and ripping their home phone out of the wall.
The two walked to Good Samaritan Medical Center in the middle of the night to seek treatment, prosecutors said.
Two others accused of the rape who are to be tried beginning Tuesday are: Tommy Poindexter, 20, and Nathan Walker, 18. While they will be tried together, they will have separate juries.
Jakaris Taylor, 17, who was to be tried with Lawson, is to face a jury in September.
Prosecutors acknowledged that all involved are not in custody.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/breaking-news/story/1191244.html
By JANE MUSGRAVE
PALM BEACH POST
More than two years after a Dunbar Village woman was gang raped while her 12-year-old son was forced to watch, dozens of county residents will be asked Tuesday whether they can impartially judge two of the young men accused in the attack.
By the end of the week, prosecutors and attorneys representing Tommy Poindexter, 20, and Nathan Walker, 18, hope to have selected 26 jurors to consider the evidence. While the two will be tried together, separate juries will consider their fates.
The enormous media attention paid to the brutal rape is expected to make it difficult to find jurors who haven't made up their minds about the case. Testimony is not expected to begin until next Monday.
A surprise witness was deposed for roughly five hours Monday. Avion Lawson, 16, went from defendant to witness last week when he pleaded guilty to 14 charges and agreed to testify against Poindexter, Walker and Jakaris Taylor, 17, who is to be tried next month. Lawson, like the others, faces a possible life sentence.
Attorney Robert Gershman, who represents Walker, said he intends to call Lawson as a witness.
"I think he would help in my defense," he said Monday after the nearly daylong deposition wrapped up.
In the past, he has said that claims Lawson made in jailhouse letters and in statements to police were often contradictory and clashed with the evidence.
Prosecutors and public defender Carey Haughwout have consistently declined comment.
The 35-year-old woman is expected to testify during the trial, which is expected to take about seven days. Citing the potential psychological harm of forcing the boy to confront his attackers, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Krista Marx agreed he could testify via closed circuit television.
Identified in court papers only as M.D., the 35-year-old and her son were tortured for hours in their apartment by as many as 10 young men and boys, police said. In addition to being raped and beaten, they were forced to perform a sex act with each other. Before fleeing, their assailants doused them with cleaning solvents in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
Police said they discovered Lawson's DNA on a condom and his fingerprints in the woman's bedroom. DNA taken from stains on the woman's dress were linked to Poindexter and Walker.
In letters, both have blamed the other, claiming they never intended to hurt the woman or her son but were forced to do so by others in the group.
Trial is supposed to begin tomorrow.
Now, I want to know why in hell it takes TWO YEARS to bring this to trial. What the fuck were they waiting for?!
And they STILL don't have all the attackers in custody?! What the fuck is up with that? You've had two years to arrest these people!