Chapter 37
Stan Turner
Stan watched the jurors as they walked in. He wondered what they were thinking. He was pleased with the way Jodie was handling herself before the court and jury. He had been a little afraid Goldberg might roll over her, but she had stood her ground well against the seasoned trial attorney. The judge had responded well too, which wasn’t often the case with female attorneys. He didn’t know why, but female judges often were harder on female attorneys than they were on males.
Jodie stood up. “The defense calls Bob Larson.”
Larson stood up from the defense table and walked to the witness box. The jurors watched him intently and Stan noticed one of the women jurors had a smile on her face. Bob was a tall handsome fellow, Stan knew, and he was sure seeing him take down Michael Mahoney and cuffing him like he was a calf at a rodeo must have thrilled her. In fact, he noticed Jodie exhibit a twinge of excitement watching the video too. Jodie turned and looked out in the gallery and made eye contact with Carl. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Jodie took a breath and then looked down at her notes.
“Mr. Larson. Have you ever served in the military?”
“Yes. I was in the Army from June 1990-May 1995.”
“What did you do in the Army?”
“I was an MP.”
“And what kind of training did you receive to become an MP?”
“I took the basic ten weeks MP training course and then another three weeks in military intelligence.”
“And did this training include weapons training?”
“Yes, in addition to what we had learned in basic training we learned advanced close armed combat, arrest and detention, the basics of the UCMJ and basic criminology.”
“And did this training include how to handle armed intruders in urban buildings?”
“Yes.”
“And where were you sent after training?” Jodie asked.
“I was sent to Kuwait and assigned to guard prisoners who had surrendered or were captured during the Gulf War. Then I was sent to Ft. Sam Houston in Texas where I was assigned to base security.”
“What did base security entail?”
“Manning entry and exit points on the base. Providing patrols to make sure no unauthorized activities were going on, manning and operating the base brig, criminal investigations, and whatever else came up.”
“Why did you leave the Army?”
“My second tour of duty was up and I wanted to get on with my life.”
“What do you do now?”
“I run a small security company in Dallas.”
“So, tell us what happened on the night of May 7, 1997.”
“Well, I wanted to propose to my girlfriend, Sally Marrs, so I needed an engagement ring. I had driven past the Jewelry Mart many times so I decided to stop in and see what they had to offer. When I walked in the store there was nobody there which I thought was a bit strange. I called out. ‘Hello. . . . Is anybody here?’ But nobody answered. I was about to leave when I heard angry voices in the back. The tone of the voices made me think something was wrong, so I went into the back room.”
“Okay. Then what happened?”
“There wasn’t anybody in the back room either which made me even more suspicious as there was valuable merchandise laying around for the taking. I heard the voices again and my attention was drawn to another room even farther back in the building. The door was partially opened so I peered in and saw Michael Mahoney holding a gun to Mr. Stein’s back and commanding him to open the vault. Since Mahoney hadn’t heard me I knew I would have the element of surprise and could disarm him before he knew what had happened. I didn’t wait since the opportunity could be lost at any second.”
“So you decided to disarm him?”
“Yes. I crept up behind him. Grabbed the gun with my left hand and then got him in a choke hold with my right. We fought and spun around a few times, and had Mr. Stein just stood still he wouldn’t have gotten hurt, but he tried to run by us and in the process tripped us. When we fell the gun discharged and his leg was grazed.”
“So, what happened next?”
“After the discharge I was able to wrestle the gun away and hold it on Mr. Mahoney until he stopped resisting. Then I secured his wrists with a phone cable and put him in a chair to wait for the police.”
“How bad was Mr. Stein’s injury?”
“I could see it was just a flesh wound but to hear him you’d have thought he was dying.”
“He was in pain?”
“Yes, but more angry than anything else, I think.”
“So, as a result of your action Michael Mahoney got nothing from the store and was taken into custody by the Plano Police Department?”
“That’s correct.”
“Thank you, Mr. Larson. Pass the witness.”
Goldberg got up and went to the lectern. “Mr. Larson. Even though you used to be an Army MP you had no legal authority to intervene in the robbery of Mr. Stein’s store, did you?”
“I’m not a police officer. I didn’t have a duty to intervene but when people are in trouble I just instinctively try to help.”
“Did Mr. Stein ask you to help?”
“No. I couldn’t ask him. If I had tried to communicate with him I would have lost my tactical advantage.”
“You could have called 9-1-1 though.”
“Sure. But the robbery would have been over by the time they would have arrived and Mr. Stein might have been killed had anything gone wrong in opening the vault.”
“Yes, but your intervention did cause something to go wrong. You shot Mr. Stein.”
“Mahoney shot him. I didn’t have possession of the weapon when it discharged.”
“But it did discharge and because of your action Mr. Stein could have been killed.”
“He could have been killed at any time during the robbery.”
“Can you understand the anguish that he felt when you and Mahoney started struggling for the gun? He feared for his life.”
“I feared for my life too, but I didn’t cry about it like a baby.”
A juror stifled a laugh.
“So you don’t have any remorse for what you did?”
“Remorse. No. Unappreciated for risking my life, yes.”
Goldberg laughed, shaking his head. “Pass the witness.”
“No further questions,” Jodie said.
“Very well,” the judge said. “Call your next witness.”
“Larry Johnson,” Jodie said.
“Bailiff. Bring Mr. Johnson in.”
The bailiff went out in the hall and brought back a blond-headed man in a gray suit and blue and yellow paisley tie. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. He walked to the witness stand and sat down. Jodie questioned him about his family, education, and occupation. He testified he was an insurance investigator and had worked for Sentry Investigations for ten years.
“Now did Turner & Waters hire you to investigate several insurance claims previously made by the plaintiff, Herb Stein?”
“Yes. We reviewed the claims that he submitted for the precious three robberies at the Plano Jewelry Mart in 1994, 1995 and 1996.”
“In reviewing those claims did you find any irregularities?”
“Yes, they appear to be almost identical.”
“But they all have different claim amounts, don’t they?”
“Yes. That’s true but, except for the amounts, they are almost verbatim as if someone copied the previous one.”
“How is that unusual?”
“It’s unusual because had they bought new inventory after the first loss they would have bought the latest models and styles, not the same items they had the year before.”
“Is that all you consider to be irregular?”
“No. If you calculate the numbers they have been increased by approximately ten percent each year. They’ve rounded them off but it is still clear that is what they have done.”
“Is it significant that they changed carrier
s each year?”
“Yes. They did that because had the same carrier seen claims for three years straight they would have canceled the policy after the third one for sure and probably after the second one. They would have also scrutinized the claims much more carefully. But by only making one claim to each new carrier they avoided those risks.”
“Have you reviewed the security tapes for all of the robberies?”
“All but the first robbery. There wasn’t a video tape of that one, but we did compare the next three.”
“And did you find anything interesting about these robberies?”
“Although no fingerprints were found at the scene of the crimes the videos appear to show the same man robbing the store. You can tell because the perp’s build, the shape of his head and the coiled-snake tattoo on his right hand is the same.”
“So, since we know the last robber was Michael Mahoney, are you saying he robbed the store the last two times as well?”
“It would appear so.”
“Thank you, Mr. Johnson.”
“Mr. Goldberg, your witness,” the judge said.
“Mr. Johnson. You can’t prove a hundred percent that the robber in the second and third robberies is the same as the fourth, can you?”
“Well, it looks like the same perp, but I don’t have DNA evidence to prove it, if that’s what you mean.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. . . And, although you think the last three claims were copies of the first, multiplied for the effects of inflation, that’s just your opinion, right?”
“Yes. That’s my opinion.”
“So, you could be wrong, right?”
“Yes. I am not always right, but in this case I’m pretty sure about it.”
“Yet it’s still just conjecture.”
“I suppose.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Any redirect?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor,” Jodie replied. “We call Wilma McWhorter next.”
“Mr. Johnson. You may step down. Bailiff, bring in Ms. McWhorter.”
The bailiff brought in a heavy set, dark-haired woman, wearing a flowered dress with sandals. She took the witness stand and smiled broadly.
“Ms. McWhorter. Thank you for coming down today.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you see someone at the plaintiff’s table that you know?”
She nodded and pointed. “Yes. Mr. Stein.”
“Let the record reflect that Ms. McWhorter has identified the plaintiff Herbert Stein.”
“So noted,” the judge said.
“How do you know him?” Jodie asked.
“He’s a neighbor. He lives across the street and one house down from me on Teakwood Lane in Plano.”
Jodie picked up a photograph of Michael Mahoney that had previously been introduced. “I’m showing you Defense Exhibit #23, which is a mug shot of the man who was recently arrested and convicted of aggravated robbery of the Plano Jewelry Mart. Can you identify this man?”
“No. But I have seen him before.”
“Where have you seen him?”
“With Mr. Stein. They were talking in his driveway.”
“And where were you when you saw them?”
“I was across the street looking out my front window.”
“Were they doing anything other than talking?” Jodie asked.
“Yes. They appeared to be loading a truck to go hunting. I saw rifles and camping gear.”
“Have you ever seen them together before?”
“I couldn’t say when, but I seem to remember seeing them together a second time.”
“Thank you, Ms. McWhorter. Pass the witness.”
“Mr. Goldberg, your witness.”
“Ms. McWhorter,” Goldberg said. “How old a woman are you?”
“Sixty-seven.”
“How is your eyesight?”
“Okay. I just got my driver’s license renewed.”
“What time of day was it when you think you saw Mr. Mahoney?”
“Early. A little after 6:00 a.m.”
“Was it dark?”
“The sun was just about to come up.”
“So, it was still dark.”
“It was twilight, actually. I could see pretty well.”
“Are you absolutely sure you saw Michael Mahoney with Mr. Stein?”
“Like I said. I saw the man in the photograph that day. I didn’t know what his name was.”
“Thank you. . . . Pass the witness,” Goldberg said.
“Any redirect, Ms. Marshall?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor.”
“Then call your next witness.”
“I have no further witnesses except Stan Turner to prove up attorney’s fees.”
“Very well. Mr. Turner. Please take the stand,” the judge said.
Stan stood up and took the witness stand. He testified the firm had been hired by Bob Larson to defend the lawsuit, that he had signed a fee agreement and had agreed to pay the firm’s charges. He further testified that the firm had spent 111 hours on the case and that the firm’s hourly rate was $250.00 per attorney hour spent, which amounted to $27,500.00. He also stated that the firm spent $6,732.21 in costs.
“Mr. Turner, do you believe the time that was spent on this case was reasonable and necessary?” Jodie asked.
“Yes. I do.”
“Thank you. Pass the witness.”
Goldberg stood. “No questions, Your Honor.”
“Ms. Marshall? Anything further?”
“No. The defendant rests.”
“Mr. Goldberg?”
“Nothing further. The plaintiff closes.”
“Ms. Marshall?” the judge said.
“That’s it, Your Honor. The defense closes.”
The judge shook her head. “Very well, do each of you have your proposed special issues?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Goldberg said.
“We do, Your Honor,” Jodie added.
“Alright. Give them to the bailiff and we’ll take a recess for one hour to allow me to prepare the charge and special issues to be submitted to the jury. Then, when we return, you can give closing arguments.”
The judge stood up and left the bench. Jodie let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God that’s over,” she said.
Stan smiled. “Yes, it’s always nice to finish a case.”
“What happens now?” Larson asked.
“The judge prepares her charge and special issues for the jury to decide. We give closing arguments and then wait for a verdict.”
Larson nodded. “Well, I feel pretty good. Don’t you?”
Jodie shrugged. “I don’t know. You never know what’s going through the mind of a juror.”
“Jodie’s right,” Stan said. “We threw out a lot of evidence but nothing was conclusive. It just depends on how the jury sees it. It could go either way.”
“Well, I thought you did very well,” Larson said.
“Thank you,” Jodie replied. “I don’t know what I would have done different.”
Jodie took her proposed special issues and requested definitions to the bailiff and then they found Carl and they all went downstairs to the cafeteria to get a cold drink and a snack. Jodie asked Stan if she should take the hour to rehearse her closing arguments, but Stan said no. He told her the break would do her more good than fretting for an hour over a closing argument that she had down cold anyway.
“Okay. I just hope I haven’t missed anything.”
Stan shrugged. “Well, you always miss something. We’re only human. I remember one time I tried a divorce case and forgot to call my expert witness to testify.”
Jodie laughed. “Are you serious?”
Stan nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid so. The witness was really pissed off and my client thought I was an idiot.”
“Well, I know I called all my witnesses,” Jodie chuckled. Then she frowned. “Didn’t I?”
They all laughed.
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