THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409160550
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Capital murder charges against Michael Logan were reduced to voluntary manslaughter Thursday afternoon after two key prosecution witnesses faltered on the stand.
Logan, charged in the execution-style slaying of two paraplegics last year, had faced the death penalty. Under Thursday's plea agreement, Logan was sentenced to 23 years, with 13 suspended, for a total of 10 years to serve.
In addition to witness problems, the prosecution's case also was weakened by the apparent lack of a motive, prosecutor Bill Monroe said.
``As the evidence unfolded, the star witnesses simply did not testify well,'' Monroe said. ``They were not credible. They said some things they had not said before.''
The victims, Brian Scott Cassidy, 23, and James S. Davis, 20, had become friends in a rehabilitation center after both were paralyzed, Cassidy in a car accident and Davis in a diving accident. They died together of gunshot wounds to the head on July 9, 1993, on Blackstone Trail in Magic Hollow.
Logan and David Williamson were charged in the killings. Williamson, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in return for his testimony, contradicted himself on the stand Wednesday, saying for the first time that he saw the flashes of the gun as Logan fired. Before, Williamson said he didn't see the shots.
Another key witness, Shawn Dunn, testified Wednesday that Logan told him he had shot the victims in self-defense. He added that Logan threatened to kill him if he told, contradicting his testimony in an earlier hearing.
Yet another witness, Juliet Sancken, suddenly could not remember telling investigators that Logan told her he killed the two victims.
Both prosecution and defense were concerned about which way the jury would go.
``I think the commonwealth's attorney was pretty convinced this guy was going to walk. We were convinced otherwise,'' said defense attorney Richard G. Brydges. ``It was a good case for a hung jury. I would have liked to have taken it to the mat, but the risk was too high.''
With 13 years of the 23-year sentence suspended, and because Logan has already spent 14 months in jail, he may be eligible for parole in six months, Brydges said.
Family members of the victims were not pleased with the outcome.
``Ten years for killing two people. That's just unbelievable,'' said Davis' older brother, Billy Davis. ``I'm just outraged. It shows how much human life means in the commonwealth of Virginia. You can get more time than that for possession of marijuana or even writing bad checks. I'm outraged and I'm hurt.''
Davis' stepfather, John Reigle, said he and his wife were unhappy with the outcome, but said he understood the risk of proceeding - that Logan could have been acquitted.
``I didn't want to see him walk,'' Reigle said. ``By the same token, if he's pleading guilty, he's saying he's guilty. This was a brutal crime. Two people in wheelchairs, two people that couldn't defend themselves, were basically executed.'' ILLUSTRATION: Logan
KEYWORDS: PLEA AGREEMENT VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER GUILTY PLEA by CNB