Homicide suspect pleads not guilty; trial could begin soon
Homicide suspect Jeremiah Chalwin "JC" Green pled not guilty to amended charges of deliberate homicide by accountability last week in district court, and the issue of evidence that is hearsay will be a large factor in the state's case against Green.
Green is one of three people who were originally arrested and charged with the deaths of Caroline Madplume and Gerald Sirucek, who were killed sometime in the early morning hours of Feb. 3. Green and fellow suspects Glen Gardipee and Troy McDonald were all originally charged with homicide, but charges against Green were amended in early September to homicide by accountability as investigators began to analyze the evidence against Green.
What is known is that Green walked into Tribal police headquarters that morning, claiming to have witnessed Sirucek's and Madplume's murders, and that Gardipee and McDonald threatened to kill him if he told anyone, according to what Green told Tribal and Sheriff's investigators at the time. According to court documents, McDonald told investigators he did kill the two, but that Green helped plan the murders and helped move the bodies.
A knife with Sirucek's blood on it was also found at the scene, with Green's fingerprints on it, according to court documents, but Green had also told investigators he simply picked up the knife to hide it, and that he didn't take part in the murders.
Gardipee has since pled guilty to felony charges of tampering with evidence in August, and his sentence will largely be determined by how much he cooperates with investigators, and his testimony during McDonald's and Green's trials. Evidence presented at a September court hearing for Green indicated that Gardipee might not be as cooperative, or as reliable a witness, as investigators had originally hoped.
At stake in Green's case is whether McDonald's comments to investigators earlier this year will be admissible as evidence in Green's trial if McDonald refuses to cooperate or changes his story. If that were case, the state could call investigators to testify about what McDonald allegedly told them earlier in the year, but that would be considered hearsay since it would be based on testimony not directly given by McDonald.
While state law says hearsay evidence is usually not admissible, there are exceptions to that, and both deputy county attorney Mitch Young and Green's attorney, Larry Nistler, will be filing motions to have the evidence admitted or excluded.
In court documents already filed, Nistler argued that the state should be "precluded from offering evidence or commenting on this statement" — a reference to the statement McDonald allegedly gave investigators implicating Green as an accomplice in the homicides.
Young said after the court hearing that the state should be able to call witnesses to testify about McDonald's earlier statements if he does refuse to cooperate or changes his testimony.
District judge Kim Christopher will rule on the motions at a Nov. 17 omnibus hearing. Meanwhile, McDonald is scheduled to appear in court today (Thursday) for his own omnibus hearing.