THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230547
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Murder charges against a man accused of a fatal stabbing in 1991 were deferred Wednesday because the state's chief witness faces murder charges in New York and prosecutors there will not release him to testify in the Norfolk case.
In April 1992, Gregory F. Thomas, 29, was charged with murder and robbery in the October 1991 stabbing death of 40-year-old Thomas Foster, who was killed after leaving the Lafayette Grill on Lafayette Boulevard.
Foster's body was found in the parking lot of Manny's Subs and Burgers, across the street from the grill.
The state's case depended upon the testimony of a single witness, Gregory M. Love, who told police that he was speaking on a telephone at the edge of the parking lot when he saw the stabbing, court records show. However, Love is being held in New York on unrelated murder charges, and officials there will not release him until there is a determination in that case, court officials said Wednesday.
Once Love's status is settled, the charges against Thomas could be reinstated, Norfolk prosecutor Jeffrey Swartz said Wednesday. Thomas was free on $100,000 personal recognizance bond before Wednesday's ruling.
Love has been a difficult witness since Thomas was arrested, court records show. He failed to show up in court twice, and was once found in contempt of court for failing to appear at Thomas' trial.
Foster was stabbed to death on Oct. 10, 1991; Thomas' arrest was based on Love's statement to police. Love said he had met the defendant two months before the stabbing.
In March 1993, a jury found Thomas guilty of first-degree murder and robbery and recommended he serve 30 years in prison.
But Thomas' lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the verdict based on jury misconduct, newly discovered evidence and testimony that was inconsistent with the physical evidence. In November 1993, Circuit Judge Alfred W. Whitehurst ordered a new trial. by CNB