DC - Savvas Savopoulos, family & Veralicia Figueroa murdered; Daron Wint Arrested #19

[oceanblueeyes]

What I would like to see is the copy of DWs indictment.

Several reputable news articles have reported he has been charged with all four murders. At first it came out he was just charged with SS which never made sense. Even if he didn't personally murder the other three he is still legally culpable for those murders as well. That is the law. So that is why I have reservations in believing he has only been charged with Savvas' murder.

The only thing that would make sense is behind the scenes the Feds are considering trying him on the other three murder charges because they want the death penalty applied.

Joe Duncan was tried and found guilty in Idaho for the three murders that occurred in the Greone home but he was tried and convicted by the Feds concerning Dylan Greone which Duncan raped and murdered but the reason they did that the murder occurred on federal land where he had held Shasta and Dylan captive.

Does anyone know a reporter up there in that area well to see if they know the real scoop? One who may have seen the actual indictment itself?

Is the indictment available online? tia

 

[Skigirl]

BBM

This is kind of different from previous assertions that JW must have grown up with the Wint boys--hanging out on the stoop and chilling.

DW lived in a suburb, too.

 

[Skigirl]

What I would like to see is the copy of DWs indictment.

Several reputable news articles have reported he has been charged with all four murders. At first it came out he was just charged with SS which never made sense. Even if he didn't personally murder the other three he is still legally culpable for those murders as well. That is the law. So that is why I have reservations in believing he has only been charged with Savvas' murder.

The only thing that would make sense is behind the scenes the Feds are considering trying him on the other three murder charges because they want the death penalty applied.

Joe Duncan was tried and found guilty in Idaho for the three murders that occurred in the Greone home but he was tried and convicted by the Feds concerning Dylan Greone which Duncan raped and murdered but the reason they did that the murder occurred on federal land where he had held Shasta and Dylan captive.

Does anyone know a reporter up there in that area well to see if they know the real scoop? One who may have seen the actual indictment itself?

Is the indictment available online? tia

If the indictment is available online, a bunch of us have done a very poor sleuthing job I wonder if it's available for purchase. I'd be willing to pick up the cost of $.90/page if it's possible to buy a copy.

 

[BellaVita]

What I would like to see is the copy of DWs indictment.

Several reputable news articles have reported he has been charged with all four murders. At first it came out he was just charged with SS which never made sense. Even if he didn't personally murder the other three he is still legally culpable for those murders as well. That is the law. So that is why I have reservations in believing he has only been charged with Savvas' murder.

The only thing that would make sense is behind the scenes the Feds are considering trying him on the other three murder charges because they want the death penalty applied.

Joe Duncan was tried and found guilty in Idaho for the three murders that occurred in the Greone home but he was tried and convicted by the Feds concerning Dylan Greone which Duncan raped and murdered but the reason they did that the murder occurred on federal land where he had held Shasta and Dylan captive.

Does anyone know a reporter up there in that area well to see if they know the real scoop? One who may have seen the actual indictment itself?

Is the indictment available online? tia

BBM: It might make sense because the blood of SS was found on his shoes. Perhaps the most definitive info available at the time.

 

[TexMex]

Good points.

I cannot, however, imagine a defense scenario that can get DW out of that house and out of this crime and insert JW ALONE...that is not utterly fantastic. And I can't imagine that a respected attorney, the head of the Department, is going to be a mouthpiece for such nonsense. Yes, we saw Baez in action...but George was at home, in the house, etc.

So if JW is on video cameras, with witnesses, etc during the entire duration of the crime...that is no credible defense for DW.

Unless, they already know there are gaps and holes in JW's timeline, wherein they can insert suspicion....as Baez did with George Anthony.

That's what I'm curios about. Why not try to blame some unknown Facebook friend who can't account for his time? Why pick JW? Unless they know...there's a point of "entry" to cast credible suspicion.

This will be high profile. How ridiculous does the Head of this Department want to look as this case is covered even internationally?

Let's compare this with your quite excellent culinary expertise, TexMex. Could the producer of some cooking show convince you to go on national TV and assert that traditional egg salad can be made without boiling eggs? You have your reputation with friends, family, and here on WS to protect!

That's why I'm suspicious that there is an opening in JW's account that gives DW's attorney just the opportunity he needs to cast his net and accuse JW and cast DW in a more sympathetic light.

"When we know who was there...etc" as the previous lawyer once said.

Good morning stmarysmead

I think Ago gave insight into his reasoning at the prelim. IMO he's going off the search warrant info and timeline. For example he asked the detective about the photo of the money. How in the world could the driver send a pic of two stacks of the ransom money at "approximately 9am" (sw info) when he (photo from BOA surveillance proudly displayed) was not given that money until...wait for it...9:40!!!???
Det. Owens, this not being his first rodeo, recognizes the attempt to trip up the real timeline with a rhetorical question answers, I don't know.
The prosecutor, on redirect, gets the detective to recall that the exact time of the photo sent was 9:57am.

JW himself also gave bullets for his soon to be own Ago firing squad by not being totally forthcoming in his initial interview. This can, will and should be used against him. The prosecutor doesn't get to choose it's witnesses. They certainly have a doozy with JW. But IMO they will be able to overcome that by entering independently verified evidence of JW's whereabouts and activities before, during and after the home invasion and murders. This is just and only my opinion: that LE has it's bases covered when it comes to JW. They have to because they are on notice that the defense is going to muddy the waters around DW by saying...look...over there..JW.

Ago is going to be forced, to use another culinary analogy, to try and make chicken salad from chicken err...excrement
JMO, MOO (no cows were harmed in the forming of this, my opinion)

 

[popsicle]

This was only a prelim hearing. The prosecutor puts on just enough evidence to show probable cause to take DW to trial. The defense was only using what little info they had to punch holes in the case and this may play no part in their actual defense case at trial. jmo

 

[TexMex]

This was only a prelim hearing. The prosecutor puts on just enough evidence to show probable cause to take DW to trial. The defense was only using what little info they had to punch holes in the case and this may play no part in their actual defense case at trial. jmo

So true. JW may wind up playing no part in the defense theory. Ago could choose instead to focus on evidence gathering, cross contamination of evidence, lab procedures, etc

 

[popsicle]

What I would like to see is the copy of DWs indictment.

Several reputable news articles have reported he has been charged with all four murders. At first it came out he was just charged with SS which never made sense. Even if he didn't personally murder the other three he is still legally culpable for those murders as well. That is the law. So that is why I have reservations in believing he has only been charged with Savvas' murder.

The only thing that would make sense is behind the scenes the Feds are considering trying him on the other three murder charges because they want the death penalty applied.

Joe Duncan was tried and found guilty in Idaho for the three murders that occurred in the Greone home but he was tried and convicted by the Feds concerning Dylan Greone which Duncan raped and murdered but the reason they did that the murder occurred on federal land where he had held Shasta and Dylan captive.

Does anyone know a reporter up there in that area well to see if they know the real scoop? One who may have seen the actual indictment itself?

Is the indictment available online? tia

I think when it goes before the GJ he will be indicted with all 4 murders.

 

[TexMex]

I think when it goes before the GJ he will be indicted with all 4 murders.

The prelim is a step before the GJ, right pops?

 

[jjenny]

The prelim is a step before the GJ, right pops?

No. It's a step instead of grand jury. There will be no grand jury. He is already bound for trial.

 

[jjenny]

I think when it goes before the GJ he will be indicted with all 4 murders.

He isn't going in front of grand jury. He had his prelim, he is bound for trial.

 

[TexMex]

He isn't going in front of grand jury. He had his prelim, he is bound for trial.

Ok then the other three murder counts and any additional charges will go to the grand jury?
Or perhaps the defense wants prelims for every charge DW will face?

 

[jjenny]

Ok then the other three murder counts and any additional charges will go to the grand jury?
Or perhaps the defense wants prelims for every charge DW will face?

I don't think anything is going in front of grand jury. Grand jury is an alternative to preliminary hearing. In his case, judge ruled there is enough probable cause for him to go to trial. So next step is the trial, not the grand jury.

 

[jjenny]

By the way, preliminary hearing is considered a more rigourous method to bind someone for trial than grand jury (grand jury can indict a ham sandwich). Sometimes a prosecutor feels the evidence is iffy they will get grand jury to indict the person instead of using preliminary hearing.

 

[popsicle]

He isn't going in front of grand jury. He had his prelim, he is bound for trial.

He wouldn't go in front of a GJ anyway because they are private. (I know you know all of this!) But yes, states do use GJ's after prelims. Recent example I can think of is Ross Harris.

 

[popsicle]

GJ has many benefits... investigative, secretive, subpoena people and you lock them into their testimony. jmo

 

[SpanishInquisition]

I also beleive JW is innocent but the only other person available to discuss is DW and he's in jail with a mound of evidence to convict him. Other more likely suspects are not yet charged so JW gets the benefit of close examination. I am keeping an open mind about JW but it was his own doings that brought attention to him. He wanted attention and now he is getting it.

I sort of see it as there can be many levels of guilt, like not all those traveling with DW in the convoy probably aren't guilty of felony murder and maybe not any of them were in the house during the murders, but they could still be criminally guilty of other things such as accessory after the fact or other such things. JW could have had nothing intentionally to do with the home invasion, but if for instance he's a petty thief (one of the explanations for him having the Mosler registration was that he stole it), he could have been stealing petty things from the S household and gone to DW as his fence for the things he stole and wanted to sell (DW was a fence - hence the 'receiving stolen property'...that's what fences do is receive stolen property and would explain how DW supported himself) and in passing told DW about a whole variety of things just as part of his bragging, which if that was the case it would make JW a criminal at the same time not someone guilty of felony murder. For JW to lie to the police - particularly given that his dad is former LE - I think JW is a criminal of some kind and whatever crime he engaged may have led to the S family being murdered, but that doesn't necessarily mean that JW took part in felony murder as there can be shades to this and multiple criminals can be operating independently of one another.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

It really doesn't matter. If you are in on any of it, you are in on all of it.

It does matter. Those people who were laundering the money may be accessories after the fact or some other crime, which is a different and lesser crime. The same also goes if you knowingly bought the stolen samurai swords, which wouldn't make you a felony murderer. It depends on what exactly the 'it' is that you're in on. As an example - not that I think this would be but just as a legal example - if JW was in on stealing the Porsche where his arrangement was that he'd leave the car door unlocked with the keys inside and told DW et al when to come and steal it but then DW et al decided to do a home invasion and murder instead with the information, being in on grand theft auto wouldn't be a felony that would qualify for felony murder in DC as theft isn't one of the crimes listed in the statute.

 

[kammiemc]

Great post. That is one possibility I had not thought of.

 

[Millhouse]

I don't think it's been established. There was a single source. Given how poor the reporting has been in this case, I'd like to see a second.

It came out of the PH that JW's movements for the day have been corroborated: "Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Bach noted during her questioning of the detective that the driver freely let police inspect his phone records and that his description of his movements from the time he delivered the money until he returned to the home after the fire was set had been corroborated." (source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ion-slayings-due-back-in-court/#ixzz3gd0fI1yD)

It has also been previously reported that police confirmed JW was in Chantilly that day: "Police confirm Wallace was in Chantilly during the fire that was set to cover the murders of the Savopoulos family and their housekeeper But the assistant's car was parked just blocks away soon afterwards. Wallace told police he drove to the home after learning about the fire." http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/loc...urders-investigation-into-assistant/28525581/