Posted on 07/10/2005 9:03:53 AM PDT by SmithL
It was 11 p.m. when, prosecutors say, Derrell Lawson and his friend, carrying handguns, arrived at the Antioch apartment of the man they intended to rob of a few kilos of marijuana.
The two banged on the door and then began kicking it in, awakening resident Steven Bodden, who was asleep on the couch.
Bodden grabbed his handgun and fired three times at the door, hitting Lawson's friend, 20-year-old Romell Mostella.
Mostella later died of his wounds and now prosecutors are holding Lawson responsible for his death. They have charged him with murder using the "provocative act" theory, a prosecutorial tactic that is rarely invoked in the county.
The District Attorney's Office acknowledges that Lawson did not shoot his friend. But under the provocative act doctrine, prosecutors say Lawson's actions caused Mostella's death.
Deputy district attorney John Cope says that Lawson did the work of a man he won't testify against, leaving only Lawson culpable for the killing.
The case has inspired the county's top public defender, David Coleman, to step into court to represent Lawson. He argues that detectives took advantage of a young man with a low IQ and acted inappropriately during his interrogation.
"The case is interesting because of the fact that it's a very unusual kind of homicide case and it would probably be difficult for a jury to feel anger (at the defendant)," said Coleman, who has also worked as an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt School of Law.
The county's chief homicide prosecutor, Harold Jewett, calls the provocative act doctrine rare, and said his office has used it fewer than five times in the past four years. Coleman said that in his three decades with the Public Defender's Office, he's never seen local prosecutors use it.
A transcript of a preliminary hearing that ended in June and interviews with police tell the story of how Mostella died.
On the evening of the shooting, Oct. 20, 2004, Lawson and Mostella were walking down the street when they were spotted by Wesley Johnson, 40, and Gary Bryant, 19, who were driving by.
Johnson, who had been in and out of prison over the past 15 years, told the two he wanted them to do a "lick," or job, Lawson told police.
Johnson reportedly told Lawson and Mostella that Bodden kept large quantities of marijuana in his apartment and that he wanted them to take it from him. Johnson explained the apartment's layout and allegedly gave both Lawson and Mostella guns.
The plan was to bust in, get the drugs and leave, Antioch police Detective William Zee said.
Johnson dropped off the two down the street from the apartment and waited, Zee said.
Bodden testified at the preliminary hearing that he was jolted awake by banging on the door that sent the locks flying, leaving only a door-chain holding it shut. Then a hand slipped in to unlock the chain and Bodden said he saw the butt of a gun smash the window pane.
Bodden, shot twice in the leg during an attempted robbery two days earlier, was armed.
"As soon as I saw the gun is when I made a decision," Bodden said. "It's either him or me."
He fired three times.
The two friends ran out of the building, Mostella wounded and bleeding.
When they got back to the car, Lawson and Bryant told police that Johnson refused to take Mostella to the hospital, driving instead to a Pittsburg gas station.
There, Lawson got out and ran.
Johnson and Bryant called 911 and told police that they found Mostella at the gas station, said Antioch police detective Mike Franzen. Mostella died a couple of hours later at John Muir Medical Center.
Under police questioning, Johnson stuck with the gas station story. But Bryant "came clean," leading Antioch police to arrest Lawson six days later, Franzen said.
Johnson ultimately went to prison on a parole violation, Cope said. He refused to testify at the preliminary hearing, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. The Times could not reach him for comment.
Bryant is unwilling to testify at a trial, Cope said. And Bodden, who said he only uses marijuana medicinally, testified at the preliminary hearing that he does not recognize anyone involved.
Since an initial police interview, Lawson has indicated that he is not willing to testify against Johnson about the planning of the robbery, Cope said.
The prosecutor said he will use a video of the police interview at the trial.
That interview is a point of contention for Coleman, who says the police neglected to ask Lawson if he understood his Miranda rights after reading them to him.
"I have come to believe that the interrogation was not out of a simple error," Coleman said in an interview this week. "I believe there was a calculated, sophisticated and intentional course of conduct made to avoid Miranda protections."
At the preliminary hearing, Coleman also called a worker at a developmental disability center who testified that Lawson has an IQ of about 55. His grandmother, Betty Conner, also testified that throughout school he did not understand his homework.
Cope said Lawson, who has attempted murder charges pending against him in another case, is streetwise and dangerous, and that the police video shows that his cognitive abilities are fine. "I can prove that he understood and waived his rights," Cope said.
The prosecutor said he would like to charge Johnson in the case but can't without Lawson's testimony, which "could change the sentence or resolution" of the case.
"You don't want to go to prison wearing a snitch jacket," Cope said. "I would encourage members of the public to come forward and testify."
Lawson is scheduled to stand trail later this year on charges of murder, burglary and attempted robbery. If convicted, he could face 25 years to life in prison.
Why not the "Felony Murder Rule"?
At least they're not prosecuting the homeowner who defended himself.
Really, what am I missing? It sures seems like there are about one hundred charges they could use.
I live in Antioch, with my wife, our 2-yr old and one on the way. Currently I am deployed to Spain. It scares me to think that this is happening less than 5 miles from where I live. I definitely need to teach my wife how to use a gun.
Interesting. I'm not sure if this bodes well. This is the "brother's keeper" law, that if abused could lead to a legal nightmare. Just peg him up on planned armed robbey, conspiracy and whatever else you can nail him on.
The 5 stooges. Even the "vicim" sounds like an idiot. 2KG of dope for "medicinal purposes"- Yea right. They all need to be kept under lock and key, to protect them from themselves.
re: the two perps going to jail and the dead klunk.....
Screw 'em if they can't take a joke.
Maybe he is very sick.
So saith the defense lawyer, a paragon of the local public defender pool.
Let's see: the defendant has an attempted murder charge pending in another case, was armed, and smashed through a locked door at 11 p.m. to steal drugs. Nope, can't see how a jury could react negatively at all ....
Oh yeah, the defendant is retarded. I guess the lawyer plans to present him as Forrest Gump.
You joined Free Republic just to defend a dead criminal?
Here's a hint: People who rob other people are BAD.
So, people that do evil things aren't really bad if they're related to you. Thanks for clearing that up.
Crime seems to run in some families.
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