Jury sets Walker free with not guilty verdict

By Gary Ogle and Krystal Smalley
gogle@wbcowqel.com

A Crawford County jury sat through a marathon day of testimony and closing arguments in the second day of Jarell Walker’s trial for aggravated burglary. It took the jury just about half of an hour to set Walker free.

It couldn’t have come soon enough for the 24-year-old Walker who had been incarcerated at the Crawford County jail since June 27 on the felony one charge. Both Walker and his attorney, Brad Starkey, declined to comment following the verdict.

Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall said although the outcome of the trial wasn’t what he and Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler had sought, he wasn’t disappointed with the system.

“I wouldn’t want to speculate as to why they decided what they did,” Crall said. “But that’s the way the system is set up and the system worked the way it is supposed to work.”

Walker could have been sentenced to 11 years in prison if convicted.

Day two of the featured conflicting testimony from prosecution witness and police statements that didn’t agree with testimony.

Hoovler continued his case by calling Harold Moore, the step-grandfather of victim Jordan Ernsberger. Moore, age 77, testified Ernsberger was staying over at his house the evening of June 26 as was his habit so that Moore could take him to his college classes the following day. Moore said that Ernsberger burst into his bedroom after he had gone to sleep and grabbed a gun and said, “They broke in.”

Moore said Ernsberger returned the gun moments later and told him the police were there.

“He (Ernsberger) had blood all over him and his face was so swollen he could hardly talk,” Moore testified.

Moore testified that to his knowledge nothing was missing from the home, but that the downstairs had much damage including broken ceiling tiles.

Hoovler then called Ben Aicher who received a plea deal in the same case in which the original felony one aggravated burglary charges were reduced to felony three. He received community control with no jail or prison time in exchange for his testimony.

Aicher testified that Walker had contacted him that day regarding a plan to get to Ernsberger because Walker believed Ernsberger and Randall Allen had stolen money from him as well as other places in the Heritage Citcle area where Walker was staying with his girlfriend Lauren Kaple.

Aicher testified further that he was present when Allen came over to Kaple and Walker’s residence on Colonial Drive. Aicher testified he watched but did not take part as Walker, CJ Ross and Jesse Baird beat Allen to get information on Walker’s money and Ernsberger’s whereabouts. Aicher said Allen told them Eernsberger was at Moore’s home on Bland Avenue.

Aicher admitted at one time during the day he had went to another friend’s house to “smoke weed,” and later met Walker, Allen, Baird and Ross by himself in the Bland Avenue neighborhood. Aicher said he and Allen remained outside – Aicher on Willard Street – while Walker and Ross went into Moore’s house. Aicher said he couldn’t be sure if Baird entered the home or not. He remained there until he became aware police were coming.

Starkey set out to discredit Aicher’s testimony, first by emphasizing he was being held in jail until he accepted the plea agreement which included his testimony.

Starkey pointed out his plea agreement did not include jail or prison time in exchange for his cooperation.

When asked by Starkey why he would change his plea, Aicher said, “I thought to do the right thing.”

Starkey countered by saying, “The only way you were going to walk out of that jail (Crawford County) was if you testified you were involved in what happened on June 27.”

Then Starkey used videotaped statements Aicher gave on two occasions that that contradicted key parts of his testimony. Aicher said he didn’t know why his testimony in court was different from his second statement given to police and prosecutors after the plea agreement was reached.

Aicher also testified under cross examination that Allen had called him after talking to police following the incident on Bland Avenue and wanted to know what Aicher wanted him to do. Allen, who testified later Friday afternoon, said he has never called Aicher in his life.

Bucyrus police officer Adam Cramer testified next. Cramer’s testimony was limited to responding to a call from a homeowner on Hill Street who found a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver in her yard on August 27 and a bloody pillow case on Aug. 28.

Then it was Allen’s turn on the stand. Shown a picture of him with bruises and a swollen face, Allen said he was beaten up by four men at the Colonial Drive apartment of Kaple and Walker. He identified those men as Ross, who he said he thought was his best friend and tried to greet when he entered the apartment. Walker, Baird and Aicher.then joined Ross in attacking Allen.

Allen estimated he was kicked about four times and punched another seven.

Allen said he was crying from fear of his life as well as the beating. He testified Walker told him to stop crying and take some heroin to calm down so he could call Ernsberger to arrange a meeting at a dark, secluded place.

Allen said as he was held down and struggling, Walker put a knife to his arm and said, “Stop moving or I’ll cut you.”

Allen said he was given both marijuana by Aicher and later heroin to calm his nerves. When he finally texted Ernsberger, Allen said he tried to warn him and knew he wouldn’t get a response because Ernsberger would already be in bed by that time. Allen said the four then wanted to know where Ernsberger was.

“I told him for fear of my life,” Allen said. “I told him he was at his grandpa’s.”

Allen said he was then taken in Kaple’s car by Walker, Baird and Ross to Bland Avenue. Aicher came in his own car with another man Allen identified as Brad Sinnes.

“The overall plan was just to beat him (Ernsberger) up,” Allen testified.

Allen testified that Walker, Ross, Baird and Aicher all went into Moore’s house through a breezeway door into the kitchen and that it was Sinnes who stayed outside on Willard Street. Allen said he was able to distance himself from the group at the corner of Willard and Bland and it was then he called 9-1-1 on two occasions.

Allen admitted he gave a half-hearted signal when the police arrived, but said he did it because no one had been taken into custody and he wanted to fool them into thinking he was with them because he was afraid they might hurt his family like they had threatened.

Allen said when Lt. Kevin Wert arrived, the four were already out of the house and he pointed them out to the police officer.

Asked by Hoovler if his testimony on Friday was the truth, Allen said, “Absolutely.”

It was a point Starkey went after immediately on cross, again using recorded statements Allen gave to police to counter his testimony.

Starkey asked why everyone went to Moore’s house early the morning of June 27. Allen admitted it was because he told the four men that Ernsberger had taken the money from Walker and indicated it was likely above the ceiling tiles.

In addition to denying he never called Aicher, Allen said he never stole money from Walker or any other residence in the Heritage Circle area.

After the prosecution closed its case, Starkey opened the defense by calling Charlee Assenheimer. Assenheimer testified that although she was aware of what was supposed to have happened at Kaple and Walker’s apartment on Colonial Drive she had no first-hand knowledge herself. At the time Assenheimer was dating Ross.

Assenheimer said she was questioned by police, but had no information.

Then Walker took the stand in his own defense. He said Kaple was out of the state at the time of the incident and admitted he had a key to her car. But he denied ever seeing Allen, Ernsberger, Ross or Aicher that day.

He said he spent the afternoon of June 26 at the Colonial Drive apartment in the afternoon, but left to play basketball at the middle school where he saw Baird among many others. At 7 p.m. he said he took his father to his apartment in Mansfield and returned to his grandmother’s home on Cullen Avenue around 10. Although he stopped back at the Colonial Drive apartment he had by that time lost the key to the apartment.

Walker said he then went to a friend’s apartment on Heritage Circle where the two of them and another man played video game and “smoked weed” until about 2:30 a.m.

Walker said he went back to Kaple’s car and got in but didn’t drive to his grandmother’s on Cullen Avenue because he was “pretty high.”

It was there Wert found him and took him back to the police station under what Walker said was a threat of being Tasered if he didn’t go. Walker said he refused to give a statement because police wouldn’t tell him details of what he was being investigated for.

Starkey showed a photo of Walker taken at the police department following his arrest wearing a dark T-shirt. Starkey pointed out that was different than the white “wife-beater” undershirt Allen said Walker was wearing when he ran from police on Bland Avenue. Walker said he never wore a “wife-beater” in public and in fact didn’t own one.

Walker also testified he had no idea why Allen or Ernsberger would claim he participated in beating them.

Hoovler in his cross examination brought out that Kaple told police Walker had told her that he had lost money the week before. Hoovler asked Walker how much money and the defendant said he never lost money and that Kaple was in error regarding that statement.

In closing arguments later Friday afternoon Hoovler stated the jury need only to follow the roadmap he had set up for them: that Walker had been charged with aggravated burglary, which included trespassing on an occupied structure with force or stealth in order to commit a criminal offense and had inflicted physical harm on another person. Hoovler argued with calm deliberation that not only were Ernsberger and his step-grandfather home, but that Walker, Baird, Aicher and Ross had entered the home under the cover of darkness while everyone was sleeping with the purpose to commit assault, theft and vandalism offenses.

Hoovler relied much on the eyewitness testimonies of Wert and Ernsberger, as well as statements from Aicher and Allen. He noted that Wert didn’t take forensic evidence or pursue forensic tests.

“The fact of the matter is you have eyewitness testimony from Wert,” said Hoovler.

Hoovler also didn’t deny the deal the State made with Aicher. “We decided we needed the testimony he could give us,” Hoovler explained. “I told him to tell the truth. That’s what he did today.” As for any inconsistencies in Aicher’s testimony, Hoovler said that could be blamed on testifying against his friends.

“Go to the heart of Jordan Ernsberger’s testimony, Randall Allen’s testimony, Ben Aicher’s testimony,” said Hoovler. It was there that the jury could make their decision. He added that though the defense presented an alibi for Walker no one had testified in court that Walker had been there.

Starkey once again focused on the missing puzzle pieces in the State’s argument. “State wants you to say all the pieces are there,” said Starkey. “It’s not a clear picture; you can’t see that can’t ya?” he said mockingly as he held up a puzzle box for the jury to see.

Starkey listed all of the puzzle pieces that he saw as missing in the prosecution’s case, which included a rusty gun that was collected but had no prints taken from it, a pillow case that did not have a blood analysis done or could be proven came from the Ernsberger house, the laptop, the shoes and hat, Walker’s iPhone, and Allen’s Samsung phone.

“None of the phones in this case, other than the Samsung phone and the iPhone, were collected,” said Starkey. He argued that police could have easily corroborated whether the individuals had been at the Bland Avenue home that night.

Starkey also pointed to Sinnes as a hole in the case as well as what he considered to be the most glaring piece to the puzzle—Allen’s sister. Starkey stipulated that Allen had stated in his statement to police that night that his sister saw the group come back to get the car to return it to Heritage Circle.

Starkey believed that Hoovler and county prosecutor Matt Crall were not happy with the testimonies of their witnesses over the two-day trial but he held that all the jury had to do was stick to their principles if they believed his client to be innocent.

Hoovler quickly stated in his rebuttal that the puzzle Starkey was discussing wasn’t about concentrating on “minute details ad nauseam” but on the elements that Hoovler went over.

“It’s possible that all of these things (minute details) could have pointed to Jarell Walker,” Hoovler admitted, but he believed the case was strong enough without it.