Criminal cases can take time to work their way through the justice system and the timing is dependent on a number of factors.
With a simple traffic ticket that is accompanied by a verbal confession of the accusation to the officer, or a guilty plea, the case can be cleared up within a week. But with cases that involve an officer's gun being fired, events that cross state lines and especially homicides, the road to justice can take much more time.
The following is a look at two cases of public interest that are currently making their way through the courts.
AN EVENING RAMPAGE
36-year-old Laurence Ellis is free on bail and will return to court on March 18 for a pre-indictment conference
JAMESTOWN - A destructive rampage outside a city bar back in August sent two police cruisers to the junkyard and one man to the hospital, and then to the county jail.
It was around 1:15 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, when police were called to investigate what seemed to be a routine criminal mischief complaint outside the Sky Bar on Fairmount Avenue just before the Sixth Street bridge.
36-year-old Leon resident Laurence Ellis was initially seen using a rubber parking barrier to smash the windows out of a silver Ford Focus, which was registered to him. This led to the initial 911 calls, before he used his truck to ram the side of the Ford, completely caving it in.
He also reportedly hit a man with the same parking barrier before police arrived, although the man wasn't seriously hurt.
The caller said someone was smashing car windows outside the bar and when an officer in JPD patrol J-3 arrived, he saw the Ford Focus destroyed and called for ambulances and backup, as he assumed a serious accident had happened.
Seconds later, his police cruiser was allegedly struck by a Dodge Ram Truck driven by Ellis. When JPD patrol J-4 pulled up, Ellis allegedly rammed it as well, and then the situation got even more serious.
Witnesses outside the bar later told The Post-Journal that when one of the officers got out of his smashed police cruiser, Ellis was spinning circles around him in his truck. Moments later, the officer fired his service pistol at Ellis, with one of the bullets going through his hand, ending the incident.
The situation was characterized by police at the time as a domestic dispute that got out of hand, and other than the bullet wound in his hand, there were no serious injuries.
Ellis was taken into custody and brought to WCA Hospital for treatment, but later transferred to the Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa. Once treated, he was released to Pennsylvania authorities and eventually brought back to Chautauqua County.
Ellis was initially charged with three counts of reckless endangerment and driving while intoxicated, but on Sept. 14, additional charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree assault were leveled.
He was released from the Chautauqua County Jail on Nov. 3 after a $10,000 bail bond was posted and he is scheduled to return to Jamestown for County Court on March 18 for a pre-indictment conference.
A DARING ESCAPE
Lucas Hull was captured in West Virginia on Aug. 31, 2008, and is currently in the Albion Correctional Facility in Pa.
MAYVILLE - Since work details began at the Chautauqua County Jail years ago, there hadn't been any serious incidents or escape attempts.
This was true until an afternoon detail on Aug. 25, 2008, at the Ellery Landfill.
It was around 1 p.m. when 25-year-old inmate Lucas Paul Hull asked to use the bathroom before walking out of the sight of those overseeing the operation and jumping into a county-owned truck and leaving. The keys were in the truck and within minutes, the sheriff's department broadcast the vehicle and inmate's description in hopes of someone seeing him and calling it in.
With no such luck, the manhunt ended up spanning a week and crossed three states, with at least two other vehicles suspected to have been stolen by Hull along the way.
It was Aug. 31 when Hull was finally found in West Virginia after that state's police force recovered a stolen Chevy Avalanche which he was seen driving.
"Once we found the truck, we received information that he might be at a relative's house nearby," said Sgt. V.S. Deeds of the West Virginia State Police when Hull was apprehended. "He was hiding in the attic of his uncle's house, but he didn't put up a struggle when we came to get him."
Hull was found at an uncle's house in the small town of Neola, W.Va., which is located in the southeastern part of the state near the Virginia border.
He was taken to the Southern Regional Jail in West Virginia on fugitive of justice warrants and held awaiting an extradition hearing.
The county-owned GMC truck was found before Hull and returned to Mayville. The other vehicles Hull was seen driving were also reportedly returned to their owners.
Two sheriff's department employees were suspended following the escape and a full internal investigation was initiated.
Hull's blitz for the state border and beyond gave him an extra week of adrenaline-filled freedom, but ended up costing him more time in the long run.
When he left the work detail, Hull was looking at being released from the county jail in less than two months, although he was facing a parole violation charge in Pennsylvania. Of all the crimes allegedly perpetrated by Hull, none were violent and most were property-related.
He is yet to return to Chautauqua County to face charges related to his escape, and is currently in the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Albion after being committed by Erie County, Pa.
A 'DRUG-RELATED' MURDER ON BARRETT AVENUE
The suspect, who is yet to be named, is being held at the county jail on an unrelated charge
JAMESTOWN - One person was critically wounded after an early morning dispute in the middle of Barrett Avenue on Aug. 3, 2009.
Buffalo resident, 25-year-old Ernest Jones later died of a stab-wound to the heart while several people were taken into custody after police searched a Forest Avenue apartment.
Just after midnight, a 911 call reported a man bleeding following an altercation in front of 160 Barrett Avenue. When EMTs arrived, Jones was in pretty bad shape, although medics attended to him and took the young man to WCA Hospital. He was treated and flown to the Hamot Medical Center via StarFlight, but later succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation began upon arrival for officers of the Jamestown Police Department's Third Platoon, who were credited by the district attorney for moving quickly enough to put together some solid leads early on.
Based on witness statements and information learned from their canvassing of the neighborhood, a search warrant was obtained and executed on an apartment inside 224 Forest Ave.
Although police wouldn't clarify exactly what was found inside, they did say that a number of people were taken into custody along with the murder weapon. It was later stated by police that the person thought to be responsible for the killing signed a statement admitting to the crime, although to date, that person's name has not been released by either the JPD or District Attorney David Foley.
The characterization of the crime as a "drug-related" incident came from Police Chief Rex Rater.
"This kind of thing is typical for the drug trade," Rater said in an interview following the incident. "The area (where it happened) and the information we developed led us to believe they were involved in the drug culture."
The district attorney's office is expected to bring the case to a Grand Jury in the coming months, but to date, the man suspected of the crime hasn't officially been charged in connection with the stabbing, although he is reportedly still in the county jail on an unrelated charge.
