ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 19, 1997 TAG: 9704210047
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DENVER
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRES
``In cases such as these, prosecutors too often present a `Cadillac' when a `Chevrolet' would do much better,'' one legal analyst recommends.
With opening statements less than a week away, prosecutors are scaling back their case against Timothy McVeigh, dropping tainted FBI lab experts and testimony about where the bomb was built and how it was paid for.
In all, the prosecution's case is shaping up to be a lean presentation focusing on the April 19, 1995 explosion that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building, McVeigh's alleged hateful views toward the government and evidence McVeigh rented the Ryder truck used in the bombing.
Legal observers said a slimmer case is not necessarily a bad idea - and may even prove more effective.
``The prosecutors must pare down their case so that it does not bore the jury,'' legal analyst Kenneth Stern recommended in the American Jewish Committee's recent white paper on the trial. ``In cases such as these, prosecutors too often present a `Cadillac' when a `Chevrolet' would do much better.''
Lost in the streamlining is a key claim made in the indictment: that the day before the attack, McVeigh built the truck bomb with co-defendant Terry Nichols at a park north of Nichols' Huntington, Kan., home.
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that prosecutors scratched seven expert witnesses who could link secluded Geary Lake Park to a truck similar to one McVeigh allegedly rented and a pickup similar to the one owned by Nichols.
These witnesses had included experts in oil stains, tire tread marks and insect activity.
Witnesses who reported seeing Ryder trucks at the lake were scratched earlier because they gave details that conflicted with the evidence and prosecutors' theory of the case.
Also dropped was a gun dealer who was going to testify about a theft that the prosecution originally said was used to finance the bomb plot, and a supervisor in the FBI's explosives unit, who identified the bomb's ingredients.
The government has also been unable to find a single credible witness placing McVeigh at the scene of the blast.
As a result, when the prosecution faces the 12-member jury, it's likely to outline a case missing some claims in the original indictment.
McVeigh, 28, faces the death penalty if convicted of murder and conspiracy in the bombing that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more in the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil.
Jury selection wound down Friday, with 86 prospects being questioned by midday. Opening statements are tentatively set for Thursday.
Attorneys for both sides have been barred by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch from talking about the case out of court.
Among the witnesses dropped by the prosecution is David Williams, a supervisor in the FBI explosives unit who concluded the blast was caused by an ammonium nitrate-fuel oil bomb. The prosecution had wanted to link those materials to McVeigh through phone records and Nichols' alleged activities.
A scathing Justice Department report issued earlier this week found Williams made scientifically unsound conclusions that were slanted in favor of the prosecution.
The prosecution will go outside the FBI - indeed, outside the United States - for an explosives analyst, relying on Linda Jones of Britain, who came to the same conclusions as Williams did. The defense has contended that is no coincidence and intends to challenge her work vigorously.
That same Justice Department report also attacked lab work on trace evidence linking McVeigh to bomb-making materials.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Melissa Neil and her son, Argustas,by CNBvisit the fence surrounding the Oklahoma City bomb site Friday. Neil
said they were remembering a family friend who was killed when the
building's day-care center was bombed April 19, 1995. color.