Bail denied for homicide suspect, but witness might not cooperate

POLSON — More details of the murders of Gerald Sirucek and Catherine Madplume emerged at a hearing in district court last week, and bail was denied for one of the men accused of having a role in their murders as the county attorney's office attempted to adjust the charges he's facing.

Jeremiah Chalwain Green, known as J.C., appeared before Judge Kim Christopher for a bail hearing last Thursday, Aug. 25, while almost three dozen family members of the victims gathered inside the courtroom after staging a quiet protest against Green's request for bail outside.

Green, along with two other codefendants, originally faced deliberate homicide charges for the Feb. 3 deaths of Madplume and Sirucek, both of whom were found shot at a house on Eagle Pass Trail south of Ronan, but deputy county attorney Mitch Young filed a motion to have the charge amended to deliberate homicide by accountability — a motion that could be denied or granted by Christopher later this month.

Another suspect, Glen Gardipee, pled guilty to tampering with evidence, a felony, in July for allegedly helping to move the bodies, and in a plea agreement agreed to testify against Green and fellow suspect Troy McDonald, but testimony given at last week's hearing cast doubt as to whether Gardipee would make an effective witness.

Gardipee faces up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine on the evidence tampering charge, but Young's recommendation in the plea agreement — contingent on Gardipee's cooperation during Green's and McDonald's trials — is that he be credited for time served. However, Green's attorney, Larrry Nistler, indicated that after interviewing Gardipee in late July, the state's case against Green — and Gardipee's testimony — doesn't appear as strong as it once was.

Nistler expressed frustration at the motion to change the charges against Green, saying it's proof the state is having a hard time proving its case against his client.

"He's remained in custody now for seven months in a case the state is now saying they can't prove," Nistler said during Green's initial court appearance earlier that morning.

The county attorney's office and detectives involved in the case have maintained all along that Sirucek was killed for about $200 in student loan money, according to court documents and testimony provided at Thursday's hearing by Sheriff's detective Jay Doyle. Madplume, who went looking for Sirucek later in the evening, was apparently killed simply because the three suspects feared she'd find his body, which had been dumped behind a trailer off the main house.

Doyle's testimony offered the first glimpse into the investigation that has taken place since Green allegedly walked into Tribal police headquarters in Pablo that morning, saying he'd witnessed the two murders. Doyle testified that detectives now believe Green arranged to get Sirucek drunk that night and take the money from him, but said that McDonald had confessed to actually pulling the trigger.

Sirucek's body was found to have nine .22 caliber bullet holes in it, and his throat had been cut 11 times, according to results from the state crime lab, Doyle said.

As Young walked him through his testimony, Doyle recalled his interview with Green that morning in Pablo.

"He told us he was a witness to two homicides and that he was made to move two bodies, and was later able to leave the residence under the story the he was going to get some food," Doyle said.

Nistler asked if Green admitted to participating in the murders.

"Other than moving the bodies, he did not," Doyle said.

Based on Green's statements, a special response team was deployed to the Eagle Pass Trail home later that morning and there they found McDonald and Gardipee — along with Madplume's and Sirucek's bodies, which had been dumped near a trailer behind the main residence.

Doyle testified that in a later interview, McDonald admitted to shooting both the victims. He told Doyle that it was Green's idea to kill Sirucek, although they had originally planned to just get him drunk enough to pass out and then take his money, Doyle said.

McDonald allegedly told Doyle that Sirucek was passed out in the back of Green's Jeep, where he was shot later that night. Doyle and deputy Becky McClintock located the Jeep at a house outside of Pablo later that morning, and Doyle photographed the Jeep, which had blood stains in the back, according to court documents.

"(McDonald) said he unloaded a clip on him, which would have been nine shots," Doyle testified.

Doyle said McDonald told him Green was with him at the time of the shooting, and that Green cut Sirucek's throat after he'd been shot. Doyle also said Green gave McDonald the pistol and told him to shoot Madplume, too.

Doyle testified that in a later interview with Green, Green acknowledged picking a knife up and throwing it down next to Sirucek's body, but that autopsy results from the state crime lab seemed to support McDonald's statements.

"There were wounds consistent with Troy's statement," Doyle said.

"Of the three individuals you arrested … how many had money on them?" Young asked Doyle under examination.

"Just the one … J.C.," Doyle said.

Doyle went on to testify that investigators discovered the .22 pistol had been stolen from one of Green's cousins, and that a friend had said Green had made threats against Sirucek, including asking his friend to beat Sirucek up. Doyle said the friend said Green threatened to kill Sirucek during a night of drinking.

Under cross examination by Nistler, Doyle acknowledged that Green's friend couldn't corroborate the dates on which these alleged threats were made. Nistler also got Doyle to acknowledge that the autopsy concluded Sirucek died of the gunshot wounds, meaning the knife wounds were largely irrelevant, and that McDonald had told Doyle he was the shooter.

Doyle also said he was aware that McDonald had been sent to the state hospital for a mental evaluation. Under questioning, Doyle said Green never said he had a role in the actual shooting, but only that he saw the last shot being fired.

But the most damage to the state's case came when Nistler asked Doyle about Gardipee's testimony, and it appears that Gardipee has since reconsidered his obligation to testify against the other two. According to comments and questions made by Nistler during the hearing, it appears Gardipee had largely recanted many of his earlier statements to investigators during the July 26 interview with Nistler, in which Doyle was present.

Because Gardipee agreed to testify for the state and appear as a witness against Green, he gave up his right to remain silent, so Nistler was able to interview him as part of the discovery process.

"Is it not true that some of the statements, he's (Gardipee) made a 180-degree change?" Nistler asked.

"Portions of his statements have changed," Doyle replied.

Nistler continued to hammer away at the fact that the state's leading witness, Gardipee, could be considered unreliable now.

"Mr. Gardipee, at this point, is not giving the same answer," Nistler said.

"To what extent the prosecuting attorney will rely on Gardipee's testimony, I have no idea," Doyle said.

During closing arguments, Young said that McDonald acknowledged shooting the two victims, so there would be no reason to doubt his testimony about Green's involvement.

"At that point, he has no reason to lie," Young said.

He said Green was the only person who ended up with Sirucek's money in his possession, and that he brought the gun to the party that night.

"J.C. was the only person of the three alleged to have been involved who ended up with Gerald's money in his pocket," Young said. "He had the motive in his pocket."

Young also said Green appeared to be more involved than he let on because he went to his relative's house instead of going straight to police. Doyle had previously testified that they estimate Green was away from the murder scene for one to two hours before contacting police.

Finally, Young said that although the stab wounds weren't the cause of death, they constituted an attempt to cause death.

But Nistler hammered away at the fact that the state has attempted to change the charges, implying that their case isn't as strong as they once thought it was.

"The state has now gone from robbery to accountability," Nistler said of the charges. "If the proof is so great, why can't they determine a charge?"

Nistler reiterated his feeling that Gardipee and McDonald should not be considered reliable witnesses, and asked Judge Christopher to set bail so Green could help prepare in his own defense.

But Christopher denied bail, saying she had "significant concerns" about the fact that Green was present during the murders, and the fact that it was violent crime over just $200.

"The court should refuse bail," she said, as members of Sirucek's and Madplume's families, many of whom were crying quietly during Doyle's testimony, let out audible sighs of relief.

Christopher set another court date of Sept. 22 for an omnibus hearing, at which point Green could be arraigned on the accountability charge. She reiterated though that barring a "wild set of circumstances," she would not allow the state to seek the death penalty, a position that county attorney's office has supported since the charges were first filed.

Christopher still has to rule on the motion to change the charge though.

"It will continue to be deliberate homicide. The question is whether is will be deliberate homicide or deliberate homicide with accountability," she said of the Sept. 22 court date and the motion to amend the charges.