THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501260378
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Anthony Wesley Penn, 18, was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder, attempted robbery and use of a firearm in the December 1993 slaying of 45-year-old Robert T. Baker as Baker and a female friend walked out of a nightspot.
Penn was convicted despite numerous identification problems by the friend, the only eyewitness to the murder outside Even Steven's. Charges against two co-defendants - Rickey Ricardo Wilson and Juan C. Boone - were dropped after the witness misidentified them in a photo lineup.
Monday, the witness surprised the defense and prosecution by proclaiming on the stand that she had no idea who Wilson was. Earlier, in a photo lineup, she had picked out Wilson as the driver.
As a result of her testimony, prosecutors on Tuesday morning dropped murder charges against Wilson, 18.
At the time she identified Wilson, the witness identified another man in the lineup - Boone - as the gunman. Boone, 20, was charged with capital murder and spent three months in jail, until investigators determined he had an ironclad alibi. Charges were dropped, and Boone was released.
Penn became a suspect after he was found with Wilson and Boone in a car matching the description of the one in the Even Steven's case. He was charged with the murder several months later after he confessed to a robbery and shooting that resembled the crime.
In court Monday, the woman identified Penn as the gunman. But after court was over, she changed her story again, telling prosecutors she was no longer sure Penn was the triggerman. This time she said she thought he was the driver.
Jurors in Penn's trial were aware of the changes in identification but were not told that charges against Wilson had been dropped, defense attorney Brandon Baade said Wednesday.
Detectives testified that the woman told them she was ``absolutely certain'' that Juan Boone was the man who walked up to her and Baker in the parking lot at Even Steven's and shot Baker.
With the loss of witness-credibility, the jury apparently relied on Penn's confession that he had been with Wilson earlier in the day and had been involved in several robberies, including one with a shooting.
Baade expressed surprise at the guilty verdict. ``Boone doesn't look anything like Penn,'' he said.
Wilson's attorney, Andrew Sacks, also expressed surprise at Penn's conviction in light of the series of misidentifications and confusions.
``This is another perfect example of how tempting it is to believe at first blush that an eyewitness account is accurate when in fact it may be among the most unreliable evidence in the criminal justice system,'' Sacks said.
KEYWORDS: MURDER TRIAL MURDER ROBBERY SHOOTING CONVICTION by CNB