THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240075
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
A judge has ruled that prosecutors must re-indict a teenage capital murder defendant, released last month on a technicality, if they want to take him to trial.
Chauncey Jackson, 16, was charged with the robbery and slaying of Ronald G. Bonney Jr. on Aug. 31, 1994.
On Oct. 24, the day his capital murder trial was to begin, Jackson was released on $20,000 personal recognizance to the custody of his mother until Judge Lydia Taylor decided whether to continue the case in Circuit Court, begin the case again in Juvenile Court or dismiss the charges and let Jackson go free.
On Wednesday, Taylor gave prosecutors the option of re-indicting Jackson in Circuit Court or starting again in juvenile court. Prosecutor Lisa Caton said in court this week that she planned to seek a direct indictment for capital murder before the next grand jury, scheduled for Dec. 6.
Jackson will remain free on bond at least until then, said Jon Babineau, one of his lawyers. At that point, Jackson's lawyers will probably object to the new indictment on the ground that it was not made in ``a reasonable time,'' as required by law.
This was the second time this year that a local juvenile charged with murder has been freed, at least temporarily, on a legal technicality.
In Virginia Beach, murder suspect Kelly Dara was released and her case sent back to Juvenile Court when a prosecutor said he mistakenly withheld evidence. She was eventually tried and convicted of murder.
At issue was a juvenile law that went into effect on July 1, 1994, but which was not being followed by either the Circuit Court or the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office until June of this year, testimony showed.
Under the law, a juvenile case that is transferred to adult court must be reviewed and approved by a Circuit Court judge before the juvenile can be formally indicted. This did not happen in Jackson's case.
Bonney was killed after meeting a man at a bar and agreeing to drive him to the 1500 block of Vine St.
The man got out and went into the house while Bonney waited outside. Jackson's co-defendant, Calvin Outlaw, then walked over to Bonney's Chevy Blazer and spoke to Bonney.
In a statement to police, Outlaw said that he was talking to Bonney when Jackson climbed into the passenger seat, pointed a gun and told Bonney to ``give it up.'' Jackson then told Outlaw to back up and fired three shots at Bonney, the statement said.
Outlaw has been convicted of first-degree murder, attempted robbery and two firearms charges and sentenced to 68 years in prison.
Jackson was charged with capital murder, conspiracy, attempted robbery and two firearms charges. He made three statements to police, confessing to the shooting, records show.
Jackson's charges were transferred from Juvenile Court on Sept. 21, 1994, and he was indicted in October 1994. The problem was that a Circuit Court judge did not review the juvenile's transfer before prosecutors presented the charges to the October 1994 grand jury. Then, when the transfer was reviewed on June 23, prosecutors failed to re-indict.
``For some unexplained reason, the commonwealth neglected to take this case to the grand jury for reindictment,'' Taylor wrote. ``Additionally, it neglected to check the court file and its own papers, and was thus unaware of its own failure. . . ''
When prosecutors realized their failure, Taylor wrote, they blamed the court.
After a search of the court's and the prosecutors' files, they realized the fault lay with the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, Taylor said.
Jackson's new trial is scheduled for early next year. by CNB