The parents of a shooting victim are questioning a judge's decision to dismiss the case against the alleged gunman after a prosecutor failed to attend a court appearance.
On March 21, when Ronnie L. McPherson allegedly pointed a handgun at Kayla Riley and pulled the trigger nine times, it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment attack, according to witnesses who say they heard him make threats against her earlier that day.
Three of the bullets hit the 36-year-old woman, piercing her chest, ripping through a lung, and injuring her right shoulder and hip. According to court testimony, McPherson thought Riley, an acquaintance of two years, had stolen his wallet.
The shooting still chills Riley's parents, Ed and Becky Carter.
But now they're worried about something else. Their daughter's alleged shooter has been released of his $125,000 bond obligations, and prosecutors aren't sure of his whereabouts.
"We're just outraged by this and feel totally betrayed," said Ed Carter, a former Lawrence city commissioner who served as mayor in 1980 and 1981.
By "this," Carter was referring to a recent decision by Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin to dismiss attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping charges against McPherson after a representative of the district attorney's office missed a 2 p.m. Sept. 21 pre-trial conference.
Betraying public trust
Riley's parents say their daughter doesn't want to talk about the case.
But they said they simply could not remain quiet about what they see as a grievous error made by Martin. The judge reinstated the charges during a hearing on the morning of Sept. 27, but McPherson's bond wasn't reinstated and a special process server hired by the district attorney's office hadn't handed him a court summons as of Saturday afternoon.
"There's no question that one of the most important things a judge has to do is maintain the public confidence and protect the public interest," Ed Carter said. "In this case, it's very evident she allowed some squabble between her and the district attorney's office to shade her judgment."
Judge Martin declined to discuss the situation.
"All the judicial canons prevent me from commenting on pending cases," she said.
Michael Malone, the administrative judge for the five district court divisions in Douglas County, said, "It is improper for judges to comment on active or pending cases."
Douglas County Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney Tonkovich said the problem occurred after Douglas County Assistant Dist. Atty. Marlon Williams, who was assigned to the case, did not notify anyone in the D.A.'s office of a scheduling change. Then, he apparently forgot about the hearing himself.
Action taken
Tonkovich said she had taken action in response to the mistakes that led to dismissal of the charges, but she wouldn't say what it was.
Williams has been absent from his job for the past week. Though the circumstances could suggest the absence signals a suspension, the district attorney declined to comment.
Tonkovich said she couldn't speak about personnel issues or whether Williams would return to the office this week. She wouldn't say if Williams' absence was connected to the McPherson case.
"I have addressed the mistakes that this office has made, and my goal is to ensure that nothing like this can happen again," Tonkovich said.
Williams did not respond to telephone messages left at his house.
Williams was scheduled to testify this week in a case against a Merriam woman who allegedly blackmailed him in the hope he would drop a drunken driving charge against her. That woman, Nancy Ferrell, missed a pre-trial meeting in Martin's court last week. Martin ordered a bench warrant with a $5,000 bond issued against Ferrell. The trial, scheduled to begin Monday, has been postponed until Ferrell is found.
McPherson's trial date hinges on an Oct. 12 hearing. If he doesn't appear at the hearing, Martin could order his arrest.
Dismissal misunderstanding
The missed appearance in the McPherson case apparently stemmed from a scheduling change. The pre-trial conference was originally scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 22, but Martin rescheduled and her office sent an e-mail about the change to Williams. Tonkovich said Williams didn't notify the support staff in her office, who usually update computer lists of all court hearings and trials.
Unknown to Martin, Tonkovich was at the new Douglas County Jail. All nine assistant district attorneys were in other court hearings, out of the office or otherwise occupied, Tonkovich said. She returned to her office less than an hour after the hearing was scheduled to begin, and immediately filed a motion asking Martin to reconsider.
"I went to the judge to advise her what had happened, and it was clear that was the first time the judge realized I had been out of the building," Tonkovich said. "Somehow she was given the impression that I was in my office at the time the status conference was occurring.
"I would never miss any hearing that this office was responsible for. I don't care what kind of a case it is. There is no case this office handles that is too insignificant for the district attorney to handle."
Surprising action
"You can find problems with any kind of execution of a plan on a major ordeal like this," Ed Carter said. "You're going to have a few mess-ups, mix-ups and miscommunications. I'm comfortable with the fact that ... Christine Tonkovich is going to take corrective action where it's appropriate, and I encourage her to do that in the severest of ways.
"I think she needs to be extremely forceful in getting some things fixed in her own operation. That still doesn't change a thing with what the judge did. ... You don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
McPherson's attorney, Randy Baird of Topeka, said judges have the right to dismiss any case for a nonappearance but that "anybody would be a fool who said they weren't surprised" about the McPherson dismissal.
Baird said he sent a notice of the Oct. 12 hearing to McPherson's rural Perry address but that he hadn't spoken to him since the Sept. 21 hearing.
Tonkovich said she was not aware of any similar dismissals in the county during her 10-year tenure in the district attorney's office.
Local defense attorneys declined to comment about the McPherson case but said the judicial system relies on both sides meeting appointments.
Swift action required
"If you were aware of how many cases each district court judge handles and the pressure on the judge to keep those cases moving. ... Judges are frequently criticized for not keeping cases moving," said attorney Ed Collister. "You've heard the phrase, 'Justice delayed is justice denied.'"
David Brown, a Lawrence attorney and president of the Douglas County Criminal Defense Attorney Assn., said he and other attorneys also face consequences if they or their clients don't show up to hearings, and bench warrants are routinely ordered for defendants who miss court appearances.
"These cases are always hard," said Kansas University law professor Roscoe Howard Jr. "Emotions run high, but I'm sure the prosecutor didn't mean for this to happen.
"Do judges react strongly in these cases? Sure, it's their court, and they want it to run efficiently."
-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.
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