ATF agent Will Clark is a free man this afternoon!

Here's the info you're seeking from CNN.

http://links.visibli.com/links/ff048f

"Senior Sitting Superior Court Judge Edgar J. Ross dismissed the case on a motion by the defense saying that government prosecutors had failed to prove that Sukow was the person who died, said Vincent F. Frazer, the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"It is truly a first- or second-year prosecutor screw up," a source close to the case said. "The judge did exactly what the law required."

The government cannot appeal the ruling, the source said."

Since a jury was sworn in and the sitting Judge dismissed the case he cannot be charged again under the double jeopardy rules.
A very poor prosecution effort.

Doesn't sound much like a technicality on the coroners office, more like a HUGE mistake on the attorney general's office.

"It is truly a first- or second-year prosecutor screw up," a source close to the case said. "The judge did exactly what the law required."

As I said before, sometimes the incompetence of the attorney general's office works for the good guys. Hopefully the ATF will now come back to the VI and clean up the illegal gun mess like they were trying to do before this travesty started.

I would suggest that everyone read the entire story someplace such as the St. Croix Source before forming an opinion on how this case was handled.

In my opinion it is another example of a judge in the VI making a totally weird decision and not so much the prosecution blowing the case.

Either way it is another black mark on the justice system in the VI.

Jim

I don't believe the ATF will be in any hurry to get back to the Virgin Islands. I know if I was an agent I wouldn't want to serve here, they have no support from the local Govt. Also with the technicality we'll never know if the jury would have found him innocent. What a mess. Justin

What a joke.

I second JimDandy's suggestion, especially for anyone thinking of moving here. This is how the VI justice system operates, folks. This story is not a terribly unusual one. And if you think it's not a problem unless you're a criminal, I hope you are right -- but the reality is, when you live down here long enough, you will have cause to be personally involved with the justice system at some point, on one side or the other, and don't expect logic to be involved. This is definitely not Kansas!!

So you think the US of A will be sending down their ATF agents again? Remember they were pulled out?

This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

According the the St Thomas Source, the defense team didn't even key in on the "chain of custody" issue. Instead, they "...presented the judge with a motion for acquittal and argued that the government didn't present sufficient evidence that Clark had willfully or deliberately murdered anyone..." Judge Ross didn't accept that motion and said he thought there was enough evidence to send the case back to the jury for deliberation.

According to Attorney General Frazer, the judge decided to "exclude all the pertinent documents from evidence, thereby paving the way for the dismissal." In other words, the "chain of custody" issue was created.

Judge Hollar refused to recuse herself then suddenly does. Judge Ross takes over and the case suddenly goes away.

How very convenient. The VI is now out of the national spotlight and the proposed travel boycott will fade away. Coincidence?

I wonder if Judge Hollar is still "chillin' under the bus".

THIS STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What more can happen?

This country is now politically right, so right it will destroy it self!

billd

THIS STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

billd

All at the cost of one mans life. Tragically so very sad.

Really? You're sorry for the wife beater? I'm sorry that a good agent's name was smeared through the mud for 2 years. They always had a incredibly weak case and was shocked that they went through with it.

Not only do you have to read the entire story you need to read the story in the Avis, which is where I assume the original poster got his info, and the story above which was taken from the STT & STX Source.

The stories are not the same. The Source lays the outcome on the judge and the Avis attributes the outcome to an inept prosecutor.

The stories don't even agree on the issue if the VI government can appeal the judge's ruling.

It would be interesting to know what really happened, then we can all speculate on why it happened.

Jim

Local papers are usually a joke.

Washington Post article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/28/AR2010102804907.html

CNN Article http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/28/virgin.islands.atf.agent/index.html?hpt=T1

The AG office is just trying to save face saying they can appeal when in fact they cannot because it was dismissed with prejudice, to try and take him to court again would be double jeopardy.

As a prosecutor, I had to ask two questions before bringing an accused to trial:

1) Can I prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a crime has been committed?

2) Can I prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the accused committed the crime?

It appears that the prosecution may not have had its case well prepared.

I go to St Thomas every now and then and as far as I heard, the murdered was a physical abuser, that the woman was being beaten up, and that the agent merely came to her rescue. The murdered weighed close to 300lbs and was significantly larger than the agent, and he came after the agent and the woman.
To my un-legal mind, the life lost was not much loss, if only to base it on this simple narrative. The agent, however, has been described as an outstanding servant of the country, a decent person, and a good citizen. His misfortune was caused by his instinct to defend. He even wept when the dismissal was handed down by the judge.
His face has been plastered all over the papers, like he was a marked man, in large, bold pictures. Is there even a criminal that warranted this or was given this much picture coverage? The media clearly want everyone to know how he looks like.
This is not about political correctness. This is about weighing what is just and fair. A physical abuser. An officer with a good record.
Just my humble opinion.

I'm sure the agent will be leaving Island very soon.

Oh I'm sure he took the first flight out after the dismissal. I believe I read he is still active duty in upstate NY. Does anyone know if the ATF chose to pull out or were they told to leave? Did any other federal agency (FBI ect...) threaten to pull out? Justin

ATF pulled out immediately when this occurred. They support their Agents. They were not told to leave in fact, the VI has been trying to get them to come back but until the Feds get the protection they have in the states, this will never happen.

No other federal agency has left.

Is it OK to allow agents of to government (England at the Boston Massacre) to gun down citizens of the territories (colonies) at their whim? This man should be fried and would be were he not an agent of the regime what is with you people that think a murderer is alright as long as he is white and has a badge?

aeneas
I never looked at it as a black white issue, whatever color the agent was he shouldve had more suppot from local govt. I'd feel the same if the roles were reversed. Justin

More colonial/patriot ignorance.

Can we trade the DEA for ATF? Let's get rid of guns, not plants.

Anyone who believes that Sukow didn't have a deadly weapon, please call me, I'll come over and whack you upside the head with a mag light and when you wake up we'll see if you changed your mind. The news stories stated that Duncan (the girlfriend) even admitted that Sukow had swung the flashlight towards Clark a couple of times. Just because a cop CAN chose a less than deadly force option, that doesn't mean he has to, or even should. I would guess, given how this has affected Clark's life, he even wishes he chose a different response. However, at the time, it was a reasonable level of force. Clark, or cops, or any citizen should not have to "dodge and weave" an aggresors' attempts at striking him. Cops aren't charged with fighting fare, if someone pulls a knife or a mag light, society shouldn't expect law enforcement officers to only respond with mace or a baton - law enforcement officers are highly trained on how and when to use deadly force. Sukow knew who he was fighting with, and when the gun was drawn and the weapon wasn't dropped, all bets are off.

Anyone read the op-ed letter titled, "The Clark Case and the Constitution" in the Source or Daily News?

I thought the writer accurately outlined the initial problem in this case, that being Judge Holler. She let some "island" bias interfere with her judicial responsibility. The result in the Clark case clearly shows why it is important that federal agents be tried in federal court when charged with a crime resulting from their duties. Judge Holler's response to the defense's motion to have her recuse herself demonstrates she was convinced Clark was a guilty man. Whether you like the outcome or not, there can be no doubt that the trial would have been much different had Judge Holler been at the bench. I'm sure there are poor federal judges, but ask any Federal Agent and they would much prefer to take their chances with a federal judge, certainly when the other option is a judge who refuses to acknowledge the US Constitution as the supreme law of the land in the US Virgin Islands.

So what happens now? Will the ATF come back? What AFT agent in their right mind would want to be the first to come back here? What sort of incentive will the agency have to pay to get the agent here? In addition, do you expect any federal agents to be giddy at the prospect of working cases jointly with the Attorney General's office? I don't believe we are close to seeing all the ramifications of the AG's poor decision to try this case. There will be a rift, let's hope it doesn't result in a continued rise in violent crime in the territory.