THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508190039
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Able H. Stringfield, convicted in 1993 of murdering and robbing Norfolk State University student Melvin Gregory, has been acquitted of the murder charge in a retrial.
This does not mean Stringfield is being released from prison, but his sentence has been nearly cut in half.
Late Wednesday night, jurors found Stringfield guilty of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and use of a firearm in the incident. They found him not guilty of murder and a second firearms charge.
On Oct. 20, 1993, Circuit Judge Lydia Taylor sentenced Stringfield to 121 years in prison for the 1992 murder of Gregory, a 25-year-old NSU senior. But in April this year, a state appeals court reversed Stringfield's conviction and sent the case back for a retrial.
The new jury recommended 44 years for the robbery conviction, 10 years for conspiracy and two years for using a firearm - a total of 56 years. Since Stringfield waived a pre-sentence report, Taylor confirmed the jury's recommendation the same night.
Almost from the trial's start Monday, the jury was plagued by problems. Twice there were threats of a mistrial. Hurricane Felix loomed. When jurors elected to stay late Wednesday, they did so because of concern that Felix might hit land Thursday morning, court officials said.
Since Circuit Court closed Thursday for the hurricane, word of Stringfield's acquittal and reduced sentence did not come out until Friday.
The evidence presented this week was essentially the same as during Stringfield's 1993 trial, court officials said. But contradictions between the statements of two prosecution witnesses apparently weighed more heavily on this jury than the earlier one.
Gregory, a business major, was ambushed March 25, 1992, across from campus by three men bent on stealing a car. He was shot during an attempt to steal his 1990 Ford Probe, then kicked and berated as he lay dying, testimony showed. Police soon arrested Stringfield, Archie Christian and Keith Hicklin.
Christian, who shot Gregory, was convicted in 1993 of first-degree murder, robbery and use of a firearm, and sentenced to 109 1/2 years in prison. The same year, Hicklin was found guilty of murder and two counts of robbery and sentenced to 35 years.
That year, Stringfield was found guilty of second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and two firearms charges. Jurors recommended life, but Taylor gave Stringfield a lesser term because this would have been harsher than the sentence received by the trigger man.
Then, on April 11 this year, a three-judge appellate panel reversed Stringfield's conviction because testimony was improperly allowed into the trial.
The new trial started Monday. On Tuesday morning, a juror heard a news report of the trial on radio as she drove to court. Stringfield's attorney, Michael Fasanaro, called for a mistrial, but Taylor denied the motion after making this juror an alternate.
On Wednesday, a juror was released after making comments during the trial. The juror started mumbling ``That's perjury'' and ``Mistrial'' within hearing of other jurors during the testimony of James Brownson, the state's star witness.
By now, Taylor was shaking her head in frustration and calling the jury ``star-crossed.'' She said, ``We're desperately trying to avoid a mistrial in this case.''
Later the same day, jurors decided to deliberate late because of Hurricane Felix. Stringfield was convicted and sentenced by 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday's acquittal on the murder charge seemed to hinge on several factors, court officials said.
Although Stringfield planned the robbery with Christian and Hicklin, he ran away when Christian shot Gregory in the chest, testimony showed.
After the killing, the three hurried back to Hicklin's house, where they talked about the murder in front of Brownson. Hicklin's leg was bleeding slightly where a bullet had grazed it. He showed off the wound, caused by the same .45 caliber bullet that passed through Gregory's chest.
The testimony of Brownson and Hicklin diverged on several points. Hicklin testified he was wounded two days before Gregory's murder, while Brownson said he saw the wound the night of the killing. Brownson said he cleaned Hicklin's wound and gave him a pair of pants. Hicklin said this never happened.
These and other discrepancies apparently were enough to raise doubts in some jurors' minds.
Stringfield has again appealed. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Melvin Gregory, 25, a Norfolk State senior, was killed in 1992.
KEYWORDS: RETRIAL by CNB