Bond, gag orders denied in murder case

Published 11:13 pm Friday, June 1, 2007

Superior Court Judge William Boyett took little time Friday morning via closed-circuit television to deny bond to three men accused in the Memorial Day murder of Dalton High School junior Andre Johnson.

Defense attorneys Michael Corbin and Richard Yancey then requested that their clients, Edgar Rolando Hernandez, 20, and Jose Ivan Chavarria, 17, respectively, be transported to the courthouse from the county jail. Bruno Pedro Sanchez, 19, was represented by a public defender.

When the two arrived, Corbin requested the court impose a temporary gag order on law enforcement officers and any legal officials who have access to information about the case. He said he is concerned about information that has been reported in local print and broadcast media.

“Over the past week, this case has received a lot of publicity. I understand a lot of that information can’t be restricted, but several photographs were made from restricted areas while my client was in custody, showing him in chains,” Corbin said. “(Television news) has also stated my client has been in and out of trouble with the law. That’s inaccurate, and the only source I know it could come from would be the District Attorney’s office. I’m concerned about the tainting of a jury pool down the road.”

Chief assistant district attorney Bert Poston said his office only reports public information.

“The policy of the District Attorney’s office is to provide only limited information that would be public record,” Poston said. “We take offense to the assumption that the DA’s office is the only source of this information and would ask that the sheriff’s office and police have an opportunity to respond to a written motion.”

While Boyett said persons charged with offenses are entitled to certain rights including a fair trial, he denied the motion for a gag order.

“I’m going to deny the request at this time of restricting the speech of some vague class of person. Gag orders can also affect members of the community who have First Amendment rights to free speech,” Boyett said. “Such requests regarding pre-trial publicity should be appropriately addressed to the judge for whom the trial has been assigned. Judge (Jack) Partain will deal with that information in due course. We hold court twice a week in this circuit so nobody has to wait any longer to have their concerns heard.”

Boyett said the court’s conduct in dealing with the press can have an effect on a possible change of venue. After exiting the courtroom, several members of Johnson’s family could be overheard wondering aloud if Corbin is laying the foundation for having the trial moved out of the area. Johnny Herrington, Johnson’s brother-in-law, said he hopes that doesn’t happen.

“There’s no need to put in a gag order,” he said. “What happened is common knowledge, and now (the defendants) are going to have to deal with the ramifications of their actions.”

District Attorney Kermit McManus missed the bond hearing to attend a Drug Court conference.

“I was not in there when Mr. Corbin spoke, but I spoke to him afterwards,” McManus said. “In any criminal case we’re not ethically allowed to speak extrajudicially about the case. We can talk about charges that have been formalized, but nobody in my office will or would talk about facts of a case outside the courtroom.”

Corbin said he will live with the court’s decision to not issue a gag order.

“That’s the decision of the court,” he said. “I’m just trying to protect my client’s right to a fair trial.”

In requesting bond for Hernandez — who police have alleged was the gunman who shot Johnson outside the Super Mini Tienda Mexicana convenience store on Fourth Avenue Monday following an altercation at about 6:40 p.m. — Corbin said Hernandez was “gainfully employed with a temp service” and has lived here 15 years with his father. Corbin said he has known several of Hernandez’ family members for a number of years.

Poston said the DA’s office opposed bond because of Hernandez’ previous assault and drug cases. Records in the Superior Court clerk’s office show Hernandez has been charged with eight felonies in three separate incidents dating back to 2004, though he has never been indicted by the grand jury. The records indicate Hernandez was charged in 2005 for aggravated assault for allegedly firing a handgun toward a house at 1104 Orman St.

Hernandez said in Magistrate Court on Wednesday that he had no criminal record.

Yancey also requested a “reasonable bond” for Chavarria, who he said is one of four children who has lived in Dalton with his parents for the past 16 years.

“My client was in the back seat of the car when it stopped (at the convenience store) and the two front-seat passengers had an altercation (with Johnson),” Yancey said. “My client did not get out of the car or speak. He did nothing to aid or abet. He was not a party to the crime. The court has to understand he did nothing to hurt anyone.”

Hernandez is charged with murder and violation of Georgia’s Street Gang Act. Chavarria and Bruno Pedro Sanchez are charged with being parties to a crime of murder and violation of the Street Gang Act.

Chavarria’s prior offenses as a juvenile are not open records, but Poston said he had been on bond before for weapons, meth and other drug charges from earlier this year. Yancey maintained his client’s innocence on the older charges as well.

“He was in a car with five or six others in it, and when they were pulled over, some pistols were found,” Yancey said. “My client did not know they were there, but he was arrested with the others.”

The attorney from the public defender’s office said Sanchez’ only adult crime is a criminal trespass in 2005. He was also arrested last year on misdemeanor charges of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and driving with a suspended license. Sanchez failed to appear in Superior Court for arraignment on those charges and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued on Feb. 1. Sanchez said via video from the county jail that he did not appear because of his parents’ divorce and because a bondsman told him he would “work it out.”



Staff writer Erik Green contributed to this story.