Superior: Judge denies robbery evidence in Murder case
One of five suspects charged in the shooting death of a Superior man last fall is facing new charges stemming from an earlier robbery case — but a Douglas County judge ruled Tuesday the new charges can’t be admitted as evidence in the man’s upcoming party to felony murder trial.
Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Thimm denied a motion by the state to admit allegations of crimes prior to the Sept. 30 shooting death of Garth Velin as evidence against Kyham Lavon Dunn, 21, of Duluth. Dunn is scheduled to go to trial on the party to felony murder charge on May 18.
Charges of party to felony robbery and false imprisonment were filed against Dunn on Monday in connection with an unrelated incident in February 2014.
Douglas County District Attorney Dan Blank argued before the court Tuesday that those charges — coupled with an attempted armed robbery in 2012 in West Duluth that was never reported to police — would make it easier for the state to prove its homicide case because the crimes were similar in nature, involving a gun and a robbery for money and personal items.
Superior police discovered the alleged 2012 robbery during the course of the murder investigation because the alleged victim — who said he was one of four people confronted by two men, one of them armed — posted a comment on a local media website.
Superior police Detective Joe Krieg testified that he spoke to the Duluth man who posted the comment about the attempted armed robbery that allegedly occurred Aug. 5, 2012, in West Duluth. The man told Krieg that when Dunn later came to his home for a party, he recognized Dunn as one of the two men involved in the attempted robbery.
The second case — the one for which charges were filed Monday — involved a Superior woman. According to the criminal complaint and testimony given Tuesday by Superior police Detective Mike Jaszczak, two men — one armed with a gun, and both wearing “polar masks” — forced their way into the victim’s home. The man armed with a gun — not Dunn — pointed the firearm at her and demanded money. The woman did not recognize either man involved in the robbery, but she was able to identify both suspects through the Facebook page of a mutual acquaintance
Charges were filed in April against another suspect in the case, Jermaine Abney of Duluth, and a warrant was issued. Jaszczak said law enforcement hasn’t had contact with Abney since the charges were filed.
Dunn’s defense attorney, Aaron Nelson, argued Tuesday the facts in those two incidents were not similar to the allegations made in the murder case, which involves five co-defendants, and for which his client is not accused of being the shooter. Nelson said the robbery accusations would be prejudicial.
“Credibility is for the jury to determine,” Blank said. He said it could help the jury make a determination on the key elements of the case.
Thimm said admitting those other acts could add to a jury’s confusion and would require a two-week trial, with jurors determining the facts in those other cases in addition to the felony murder case.
“The strongest case would be a conviction, beyond a reasonable doubt,” Thimm said. That wasn’t the case with either incident presented in court Tuesday.
Because one case was not reported to police, and charges were just filed in the other, Thimm denied a motion to include those cases as evidence in the murder trial.
“In my opinion, they are fairly dissimilar,” Thimm said.
On the unrelated robbery and false imprisonment charges, Thimm set bail for Dunn at $5,000 cash. Dunn waived the time limits to hold a preliminary hearing to determine probable cause for the charges. A preliminary hearing was not set.
Dunn remains in the Douglas County Jail. Trials are scheduled through the summer months for the other four people charged in the homicide case: Teah Joan Phillips, 17 (June 9); Chance William Andrews, 18 (June 9); Kane Robinson, 20 (June 23); and Dallas Robinson, 19 (Aug. 3).
Andrews is charged with murder, with authorities saying he pulled the trigger on Velin, 20, during a botched robbery attempt at Velin's Allouez neighborhood home. The others face party to murder charges.