Attorneys argue over what jury should see
If the defense gets its way, jurors at Anthony Riley II’s trial in September for a fatal drive-by shooting will hear that a key witness for the prosecution went to prison in 2002 for a drive-by shooting.
If the prosecution gets its way, jurors won’t hear it.
Riley stands accused of second-degree murder in the Aug. 8, 2006, death of Doyle Bryant, 28.
At 1:45 that morning, Bryant, his brother and two friends were returning to Omaha after a Lincoln celebration for Bryant, who had just finished barber school.
As they headed north on 27th Street near Superior Street, a gold car pulled alongside them and someone shot into their car.
Shots hit Bryant in the chest, his brother and friend in the leg, and missed a fourth man. The car crashed into a light pole.
The driver, who was shot in the leg, turned the car around in search of help.
Doyle Bryant was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police arrested Riley in October 2007. By then, O’Dari Wiley was accused of second-degree murder, too. And Terrell Jones was accused of being an accessory to the crime.
In court Thursday, Riley’s attorney, Jerry Soucie, and Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Amy Jacobsen argued several motions, including whether the jury should learn that Jones, a key witnesses for the state, went to prison in 2002 for a drive-by shooting along the same street.
Jacobsen sought to limit the defense from asking more than whether Jones has been convicted of a felony or a crime of dishonesty in the past 10 years.
Getting into gang ties or Jones’ criminal history is a defense attempt to make the state’s witness look bad and inflame the jury, she said.
If the tables were turned, the state wouldn’t be able to do the same thing because it’s not appropriate, Jacobsen said.
“The fact of the matter is that this wasn’t a gang-related shooting,” she said.
Jacobsen said the Omaha men apparently were mistaken for someone else involved in a scuffle at a downtown club that night.
But Soucie argued the state is trying to sanitize its witnesses.
“I think the state needs to know who they crawled into bed with,” he said.
Jones was involved in an identical crime on the same street, Soucie said, adding sarcastically that he thought that was “kind of significant.”
“I don’t know how you can say it’s not,” he said.
And, Soucie said, witnesses say Jones had a gun, was involved in a gang, and, since the shooting, has been accused of dealing drugs while he was out on bond.
“I don’t see how they can keep me from presenting a defense for a guy facing life...,” he said.
In the end, Judge Jodi Nelson said she would have to hear more before she can decide whether to allow information about gang affiliation or other bad acts.
She said she will hear evidence at a hearing outside of the presence of a jury before the trial set for September.
“I just simply am not going to be able to tell until I hear,” Nelson said.
Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
If the prosecution gets its way, jurors won’t hear it.
Riley stands accused of second-degree murder in the Aug. 8, 2006, death of Doyle Bryant, 28.
At 1:45 that morning, Bryant, his brother and two friends were returning to Omaha after a Lincoln celebration for Bryant, who had just finished barber school.
As they headed north on 27th Street near Superior Street, a gold car pulled alongside them and someone shot into their car.
Shots hit Bryant in the chest, his brother and friend in the leg, and missed a fourth man. The car crashed into a light pole.
The driver, who was shot in the leg, turned the car around in search of help.
Doyle Bryant was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police arrested Riley in October 2007. By then, O’Dari Wiley was accused of second-degree murder, too. And Terrell Jones was accused of being an accessory to the crime.
In court Thursday, Riley’s attorney, Jerry Soucie, and Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Amy Jacobsen argued several motions, including whether the jury should learn that Jones, a key witnesses for the state, went to prison in 2002 for a drive-by shooting along the same street.
Jacobsen sought to limit the defense from asking more than whether Jones has been convicted of a felony or a crime of dishonesty in the past 10 years.
Getting into gang ties or Jones’ criminal history is a defense attempt to make the state’s witness look bad and inflame the jury, she said.
If the tables were turned, the state wouldn’t be able to do the same thing because it’s not appropriate, Jacobsen said.
“The fact of the matter is that this wasn’t a gang-related shooting,” she said.
Jacobsen said the Omaha men apparently were mistaken for someone else involved in a scuffle at a downtown club that night.
But Soucie argued the state is trying to sanitize its witnesses.
“I think the state needs to know who they crawled into bed with,” he said.
Jones was involved in an identical crime on the same street, Soucie said, adding sarcastically that he thought that was “kind of significant.”
“I don’t know how you can say it’s not,” he said.
And, Soucie said, witnesses say Jones had a gun, was involved in a gang, and, since the shooting, has been accused of dealing drugs while he was out on bond.
“I don’t see how they can keep me from presenting a defense for a guy facing life...,” he said.
In the end, Judge Jodi Nelson said she would have to hear more before she can decide whether to allow information about gang affiliation or other bad acts.
She said she will hear evidence at a hearing outside of the presence of a jury before the trial set for September.
“I just simply am not going to be able to tell until I hear,” Nelson said.
Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
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