Error leads to mistrials in big cases
BY SCOTT RAINS STAFF WRITER SRAINS@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM
As quickly as the discovery of a clerical error, mistrial was declared in two high profile Stephens County District Court cases Tuesday. Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks said that the routine process of sending questionnaires to jurors resulted in mistrials for Charles Dyer and B r a n d o n Balthrop. The two are being adjudicated for separate felony cases filed in 2010. “At the end of the first recess, the court discovered three jurors on both panels had received mail from the District Attorney’s office with a letter and survey about jury trials that happened last week,” Hicks said. “The judges found that the situation could have potentially impacted the jurors so they declared a mistrial.” Hicks said that contact was nothing more than a letter and was “totally inadvertent by my
staff” while conducting a routine operation — “It was just a mistake.” “The request was made after my Assistant District Attorneys discovered that routine juror questionnaires and cover letters were inadvertently sent to jurors who served on a jury the prior week,” Hicks said. “The Assistant District Attorneys immediately advised the court of the situation so as to ensure that the defendants had the opportunity to have a fair trial.” Hicks said that an unusually busy trial docket had a hand in the error. Jurors are routinely sent questionnaires and cover letters are generated at the conclusion of each trial and are simple forms used by the Office of the District Attorney to evaluate the performance of the Assistant District Attorneys and their effectiveness during a term of court, he said. Four trials were heard by juries last week and the letters and questionnaires were sent by one of his office staff members, he said. Three jurors in Dyer’s trial and three in Balthrop’s trial received the mailings because they were part of the jury pool. “Outside of the mailings, there was absolutely no contact by me or any other member of my staff with any potential jurors,” Hicks said. “This process is clearly permitted by Oklahoma law, as well as the Rules of Professional Conduct promulgated by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.” The rulings knocked 28 potential jurors from the pool when the trials are rescheduled for the April docket. On Monday, Hicks was pleasantly surprised that the jury was seated quickly due to previous notoriety. Dyer, 31, of Marlow, a former Marine accused of child sexual abuse and concealing stolen property, received his second mistrial with District Judge Joe Enos’ ruling. In April 2011, jurors deadlocked and could not make a decision. Dyer will remain in custody of the Stephens County Jail where he has been since late-August. After taking flight before his trial was slated to begin Aug. 17, 2011, he was netted in a national manhunt eight days later after he was listed among the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ten Most Wanted. Dyer is known for his YouTube videos posted under the pseudonym “July4Patriot” and he has connections to the American Patriot and Militia movements, as well as to the Oath Keepers. According to the charges, Dyer is accused of a child sexual abuse, said to have taken place Jan. 2, 2010. During the search warrant execution, deputies found a grenade launcher. The weapon was later determined to have been stolen from a California military base. Dyer was acquitted of a federal weapons charge in April 2010. Enos’ ruling followed Tuesday’s opening statements and the early testimony from the mother of the then-7-year-old victim. In a nearby courtroom, Associate District Judge Brent G. Russell made his ruling in the trial of a former Stephens County Sheriff’s Deputy accused of being an on-the-job sexual predator. Balthrop, 29, of Duncan, was to begin trial for six felony charges of sexual battery and rape based on allegations that between 2007 and 2010 he used his authority as a law enforcement officer to commit several sexually abusive crimes. Though the charges were filed August 2010 in the Stephens County District Court, the district attorney’s office has since recused itself from the matter and Jackson County District Attorney John Wampler’s office is prosecuting the case. “We’ll come back and pick up a new court date and seat a new jury,” Wampler said. Over the course of the investigation, information became available for the amended and additional charges, according to the affidavit. According to court records, in October, the state filed a notice of intent to offer evidence of other crimes. Balthrop has adamantly denied his guilt which resulted in a gag order being put in place in September. Despite the hitch in the road, Hicks said that the process of receiving input from jurors is too important a tool. “I demand the highest integrity of my Assistant District Attorneys and will accept no less from them,” Hicks said. “I am proud that they had the integrity to bring this information to the attention of the court, even though it meant that there was a mistrial in each matter.” “Certainly it is regrettable that this situation occurred; however, the information gathered from the questionnaires is invaluable to me,” he said.
