GUILTY PA - Cpl. Bryon Dickson, 38, slain, 2nd trooper injured, Blooming Grove, 12 Sept 2014

[Richrd]

Corporal Bryon Dickson, 38, Slain, 2nd Trooper Injured, Pike County, 12 Sept 2014

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-52-CR-0000019-2015

[Page 26 of 27]

"Recent Entries made in the Court Filing Offices
may not be immediately reflected on these Docket Sheets..."

http://wnep.com/2016/10/25/trial-date-set-for-eric-frein/
&
http://wnep.com/2016/08/12/state-supreme-court-rules-where-jury-for-frein-trial-will-come-from/

Jurors will be selected from Chester County, in South-Eastern, PA.

Trial will be held in Pike County, in North-Eastern, PA.


What is Change in Venire?

Richrd's Short Version:

*Change in Venire {venn-EYE'-ree}:

Jurors from another, PA County, {Chester}, are

Bu$$ed-In for a Pike County Trial, and $eque$tered weeknights.

There's also a possibility they'll again be $eque$tered during Deliberations.

Jury Sequestration :: Isolation of a Jury to avoid accidental, or deliberate tainting/influence

Bu$$ed-In and $eque$tered = Co$tly to the ho$ting {Pike} County


The Official Link :: Plus ...Excerpts..., {Insertions}, & Emphasis:

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/234/chapter5/s584.html:

234 PA Code Rule 584 :: Motion for Change of Venue or Change of Venire

(A) All motions for... Change of Venire shall be made to the {Pike County} court
in which the case is currently pending.
...Venire may be changed by that court when it is determined, after hearing,
that a fair and impartial trial cannot otherwise be had in... {Pike} County...

(B) An order for Change of Venire shall be certified forthwith to the {PA} Supreme Court.
The {PA} Supreme Court shall designate and notify the {to-be-determined PA} County
from which the jury is to be impanelled.
Unless otherwise ordered by the {PA} Supreme Court, a judge from {Pike} County...
shall preside over all proceedings...

{(C) intentionally omitted}

(D) Whenever a Change of Venire has been ordered, the jury shall be summoned, selected,
and impanelled in the {to-be-determined} designated {PA} county of impanelment.
The trial judge shall conduct the Voir Dire,
unless otherwise ordered by the {PA} Supreme Court.
The jury shall be transported to... {Pike} County... Court...

(E) All costs accruing from... a change {of} venire shall be paid by... {Pike} County...

[...Excerpts..., {Insertions}, & Emphasis by Registered-User Richrd]

Voir Dire = {vaugh DEER'} [Old French - To speak the Truth]:

The preliminary examination of prospective jurors to determine
their qualifications, and suitability to serve on a {sequestered} jury.

via http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/voir+dire

 

[0101ABA]

Judge denies insanity defense in Frein case

A Pike County judge barred accused cop killer Eric Matthew Frein from presenting an insanity defense, but left open the possibility his defense attorneys could raise the issue in the future.

The ruling means Mr. Frein cannot present evidence relating to any type of mental health issue at either his trial or, if he’s convicted of first-degree murder, the penalty phase that will decide if he is sentenced to death or life in prison, District Attorney Ray Tonkin said Tuesday.

(...)

The trial is scheduled to begin in Pike County in April.

 

[starviego]

It's been over two years! Why has this case not gone to trial yet?

And how can the judge deny the defense to put on any defense they want?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

It's been over two years! Why has this case not gone to trial yet?

And how can the judge deny the defense to put on any defense they want?

Death penalty cases usually take up to 3-4 years and some even longer after the arrest of the suspect.

 

[jns207]

(snip)

And how can the judge deny the defense to put on any defense they want?

To answer your question generally, all relevant evidence is admissible. However, both the prosecution and the defense can seek to prohibit the other side from offering any evidence that is not relevant to the case. When it comes to a defense of insanity or mental infirmity, a defendant is required to provide timely notice that they intend to present either defense, as well as to provide a copy of any expert report they intend to present to prove that defense. It's customary for the prosecution to then file a motion to exclude that evidence from being introduced. If the defense discloses all expert reports and anticipated trial testimony, and if taken as a whole, it could not legally support a jury finding on either defense, then the court can rule that the defendant is precluded from presenting any evidence on the claimed defense. Basically, if it is impossible for the defendant to put on enough evidence to support an insanity or mental infirmity defense, he can't present the little bit of evidence he does have, since it would be irrelevant.

But in this case specifically, it appears the defense was precluded from offering evidence of insanity or mental infirmity because they did not provide notice that they intended to present either defense. I believe this article explains the procedural history a bit more accurately than the article linked above:
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...c-frein-20161224-story,amp.html?client=safari


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oceanblueeyes]

To answer your question generally, all relevant evidence is admissible. However, both the prosecution and the defense can seek to prohibit the other side from offering any evidence that is not relevant to the case. When it comes to a defense of insanity or mental infirmity, a defendant is required to provide timely notice that they intend to present either defense, as well as to provide a copy of any expert report they intend to present to prove that defense. It's customary for the prosecution to then file a motion to exclude that evidence from being introduced. If the defense discloses all expert reports and anticipated trial testimony, and if taken as a whole, it could not legally support a jury finding on either defense, then the court can rule that the defendant is precluded from presenting any evidence on the claimed defense. Basically, if it is impossible for the defendant to put on enough evidence to support an insanity or mental infirmity defense, he can't present the little bit of evidence he does have, since it would be irrelevant.

But in this case specifically, it appears the defense was precluded from offering evidence of insanity or mental infirmity because they did not provide notice that they intended to present either defense. I believe this article explains the procedural history a bit more accurately than the article linked above:
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...c-frein-20161224-story,amp.html?client=safari


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In most cases it is the defense side which asks for delays. Not always of course but in most cases we discuss here on WS that seems to be the case.

I haven't read your link yet but I will. Thank you.

From how I understand it if a defense is going to use an insanity defense they must let the state know in advance because if an insanity defense is used the Prosecutor will be allowed to get his own mental health expert to examine and evaluate the defendant. Also, in insanity defense cases the presiding Judge will also appoint an expert to evaluate the defendant. That way he/she has a non-biased court appointed expert also doing an evaluation.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Frein homicide trial slated for April in Pike County

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/police/mc-eric-frein-state-police-homicide-trial-20170217-story.html

Jury selection for Eric is scheduled to begin next month at Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

Officials announced this week that jury selection will begin March 9 and the trial is scheduled for April 3.

Frein, 33, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted homicide, terrorism, possession of weapons of mass destruction and related offenses.

 

[0101ABA]

Prosecutors want to bar Frein defense from asking families about death penalty

Since their son’s 2014 murder, Darla and Bryon Dickson Sr. spoke of forgiveness for his accused killer, Eric Matthew Frein.

Suspecting Frein’s defense may seek to capitalize on those sentiments, Pike County prosecutors want a judge to bar them from asking the Dicksons about their view of the death penalty should his trial get to the penalty phase.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Jury selection begins in trooper slaying case

http://www.recordonline.com/news/20170309/jury-selection-begins-in-trooper-slaying-case

As jury selection began Thursday in the capital murder trial of an anti-government sharpshooter charged in the 2014 ambush slaying of a Pennsylvania State Police trooper, a prosecutor vowed to seek justice and the defense looked for people open to sparing the suspect's life.

Eric Frein, 33, could face a death sentence if he's convicted in the attack in northeastern Pennsylvania that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and injured Trooper Alex Douglass. He led police on a 48-day manhunt in the Pocono Mountains before his capture by U.S. marshals

The prosecution and defense agreed to pick an outside jury because of blanket news coverage of the Sept. 12, 2014, sniper attack in Pike County and its prolonged aftermath. The courthouse where the jury is being picked is about 150 miles away from the shooting scene at the Blooming Grove barracks.

"We look forward to selecting a fair and impartial jury in this matter, bringing them back to Pike County and seeking justice in this case," District Attorney Ray Tonkin said outside court.

About 1,200 people in all received jury summons for the trial.

Frein, who has pleaded not guilty, will be held in Chester County for the duration of jury selection. Opening statements are scheduled for early April. The trial is expected to last four or five weeks.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Seven jurors selected for Frein trial

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/seven-jurors-selected-for-frein-trial-1.2169424

Two more jurors have been chosen for the upcoming trial of accused cop killer Eric Matthew Frein, bumping the number of citizens selected to seven.

Attorneys selected five jurors earlier in the week and decided on two others Friday, Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin announced via social media. In all, 12 jurors and six alternates must be chosen. Jury selection will resume Monday and is expected to wrap up by the end of the month. Jurors from Chester County are being used for the trial, in part because of media coverage the case garnered.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Two more jurors added for Eric Frein murder trial

Attorneys for the upcoming murder trial of Eric Matthew Frein added two more jurors to the panel Tuesday, the defendant's attorney said.

The number of jurors selected now stands at eight, attorney Michael Weinstein said, meaning 10 more must be selected to fill out a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates.

Jury selection for Eric Frein trial remains a long way from completion

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Jury picked, Eric Frein trial starts next week

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-eric-frein-jury-selection-complete-0328-20170328-story.html

The painstaking process of picking a jury for the Eric Frein case is finally complete, setting the stage for the trial to begin Monday.

Twelve jurors and six alternates have been chosen from a pool of hundreds of Chester County residents. Jury selection, which began March 9, wrapped up Tuesday with the final two alternates selected.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Trial of Eric Frein Starts Tuesday in Pike County

http://www.wilknewsradio.com/articles/trial-eric-frein-starts-tuesday-pike-county

The capital murder trial of Eric Frein is now expected to get underway on Tuesday April 4 at 9am in Pike County Court. Monday is now going to be used as a day the prosecution will use to present requests to have conversations Frein had while in prison allowed in testimony.

Milford Residents Bracing for Chaos as Eric Frein’s Death Penalty Trial Less Than a Week Away

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/04/eric_frein_trial_continues.html

Computer searches from the month leading up to the shooting showed the 33-year-old searching for information about how police respond to officer shootings and whether cell phones can be tracked when the battery is removed, Tonkin said. On Sept. 9--just two days prior to the shootings--Frein reportedly looked up various local police departments.

The prosecutor did not address how Frein settled on the Pennsylvania State Police's Blooming Grove barracks, a flat, unassuming building surrounded by woodland along rural Route 402. At some point earlier that day, he parked his vehicle out of sight nearby.

"(Frein) slithered through the underbrush, got in position and waited," Tonkin said.

At 10:47 p.m., surveillance video showed Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II returning to the barracks--he had worked the 3-11 shift--and parking his patrol car. A few minutes later, the video showed him crossing the lobby again toward the glass doors.

"Have a good night--see you in the morning," were the last words dispatcher Nicole Palmer heard Dickson say before he left. She took the stand Tuesday afternoon, as the prosecution's first witness.

Within roughly the same time frame, Trooper Alex T. Douglass, who was arriving for his shift, parked around the side of the building. As he left his vehicle, he was on his cell phone talking with his girlfriend.

As soon as the former U.S. Marine and 7-year veteran of the state police exited the lobby, the first shot rang out.

"The round traveled faster than the speed of sound," Tonkin said, in his opening statement.

That .308 caliber slug blew through Dickson's bulletproof vest, cut through two lobes of his right lung and exited through the back of the vest. He fell almost immediately to the ground, on his back. It then broke in two. One bullet fragment continued through the lobby, striking the reinforced window of the communications room where Palmer sat, leaving a spiderweb of cracks. The other ricocheted off the back of the lobby and was later found on the tile floor.

A third shot rang out.

This one went through Dickson's right shoulder as he lay in front of the door. Tonkin said it tore through the muscles in his back, fractured his spinal cord and exited out his left shoulder. The round then struck the base of the door, where it ricocheted into the roof awning.

Either wound would have proven fatal, the prosecutor said.

According to Tonkin, Douglass initially thought he was hearing fireworks as he climbed the hill toward the barracks. Then he saw a trooper--Dickson--on the ground.

He hung up the phone as he crested the hill and, believing the shooter was inside the barracks, ran to his fallen comrade's aid.

"He responded to the situation in accordance with his duty and his service," Tonkin said.

But as Douglass knelt down over Dickson, yet a fourth shot was fired.

The bullet struck Douglass in his side, tearing through his intestines before exiting the other side. Stricken, the trooper managed to open the door of the barracks and collapse inside on the floor.

Surveillance video showed Douglass crawling on his hands and knees, blood flowing from his left side, as he put distance between himself and the glass entrance.

Three crumpled sheets of notepaper, later found near a campsite prosecutors believe was used by Frein, picked up the rest of the story from the shooter's perspective.

"Got a shot around 11 p.m. and took it," one of the pages read, describing Dickson's shooting. "He dropped and yelled."

The note went on to describe the second shot, around "his head and neck area," and a woman--Palmer--on a cell phone. Then the shooter took another shot, at Douglass, and left the scene.

A number of emergency vehicles rushed to the scene, the note continued. When he came to a roadblock further up the road, the shooter described making a K-turn and then driving through a development with an access road through the woods that would allow him to get around the roadblock.

"No one gave chase," the note reads.

But Tonkin said that, in the dark, Frein didn't make it very far on the access road. He drove straight into a swampy drainage basin in the middle of that road. From online maps, it appears to connect but in real life, he said, it does not.

"Disaster!" the note continued--with the exclamation mark.

Liveblog: Eric Frein Murder Trial Begins

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Dying state trooper mouthed 'help me' to dispatcher after shooting: testimony from Eric Frein trial

Nicole Palmer was the first witness to testify at trial this afternoon, and she said as soon as she heard the gunshot, she rushed toward the door. That's when she heard another shot and saw dust kicking up in front of her.

Outside, she saw Dickson lying on the ground.

"He mouthed, 'Help me,'" Palmer said.

As she dabbed tears from her eyes, she told the jury that when Dickson tried to speak, she heard only the blood gurgling in his throat.

"He was just looking up at the sky," she said.

Troopers at Eric Frein's trial describe a barracks under siege

As bullets rained down on the Blooming Grove state police barracks in Pike County during a 2014 ambush, Trooper Robert Golden said he relied on his Marine Corps training as he tried to help two troopers hit by rounds allegedly unleashed by Eric Frein.

During testimony Wednesday at Frein's trial at the courthouse in Milford, Golden said he was in the barracks when Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and trooper Alex Douglass were hit by bullets in front of the building.

Golden, a nine-year veteran of the state police who served tours in Iraq and the Philippines as a Marine, said he and other troopers believed the barracks was under siege.

"At this point my thought was that someone was trying to take over the barracks," Golden testified. "This was an attack."

Douglass, who has hit in the pelvis, managed to drag himself into the barracks lobby, Golden said. Dickson was lying on his back on the sidewalk in front of the door, he said, moving his head and breathing rapidly as he bled from two gunshot wounds to the torso.

Golden was one of four troopers who testified Wednesday about the attack, which occurred just before 11 p.m. during a shift change.

All the men described controlled chaos inside the barracks, which is located in a rural area in northeastern Pennsylvania surrounded by state game lands. As it became clear that two of their own had been shot, the troopers grabbed weapons and prepared to fight, Golden said.

Calls were made to surrounding barracks and an armored vehicle was brought in to carry troopers and civilian dispatchers to safety. At one point a police officer who had rushed to the scene to help began firing into the woods, prompting other officers to lay down cover fire, thinking the officer was being shot at, Golden testified.

Ambulances raced to the barracks and medics were rushed inside. Michael Cummings, a paramedic, told the jury that he was frightened as a trooper with his gun drawn directed ambulance crews to the victims.

"He was screaming at us to get into the [expletive] building. He said he didn't know where the shooter was or shooters were," Cummings said.

Jurors on Wednesday viewed dozens of crime scene photos, including pictures of Dickson's bullet-ridden body.

Frein glanced at the photos but did not react. In the courtroom audience, a woman sobbed softly as they were displayed on a large video screen.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-eric-frein-trial-resumes-20170406-story.html

The trial of an anti-government sharpshooter charged with killing a Pennsylvania State Police police trooper in an ambush at their barracks in 2014 has resumed after the suspect was briefly hospitalized.

Eric Frein's parents said they were told he fell while brushing his teeth and hit his head.

http://wnep.com/2017/04/06/trial-delayed-after-eric-frein-taken-to-hospital/

With the trial back underway in the afternoon, jurors heard from state police troopers who detailed the search efforts around the barracks that began the morning after the shooting, searching for evidence.

Investigators also used diagrams to recreate the layout of the barracks and the surrounding area after the attacks.

They also heard from Jim Novak who lives about two miles away from the barracks.

The Vietnam veteran wanted to help police in the search so he headed into the woods behind his house. That's when he noticed the Jeep and connected the dots that it could be involved in the ambush, an ambush that shook him and his wife.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/04/eric_frein_trip_to_hospital_da.html#incart_most-read_

Before his trial even started, the sides argued Monday about statements Frein made to the police following his arrest after a 48-day manhunt.

The defense made a Miranda-violation argument, saying Frein had invoked his right to remain silent, but investigators continued to use their skillful interrogation techniques to get him to incriminate himself.

They also argued that Frein's parents had hired an attorney, who was barred that night from seeing his client.

The judge, however, ruled that Frein's rights were not violated and the video could be used as evidence at trial.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Testimony focuses on evidence found at Frein home

http://www.poconorecord.com/news/20170407/testimony-focuses-on-evidence-found-at-frein-home

“Precise fire from key positions at selected targets to kill enemy personnel and weaken enemy morale.”

That’s a sniper’s mission as defined in “Sniper Training and Employment,” one of the books found on the bookshelf in the bedroom of Eric Frein’s Canadensis home. The book includes a diagram of a sniper’s rifle and related equipment and instructions on proper maintenance, as well as information on marksmanship, field techniques and training exercises and night operations.

On Friday, the fourth day of his trial, Frein sat with his attorneys, occasionally whispering to them and taking notes, while listening to state police investigators’ testimony and seeing the jury presented with pictures of items confiscated from his home.

Investigators’ testimony Friday morning spotlighted a list of items the prosecution says incriminates Frein in Dickson’s murder and Douglass’ injury.

The items found in Frein’s bedroom include a rack containing about a dozen long guns, a bookshelf containing camouflage caps and binoculars, cigarettes similar to ones found in the Jeep believed to have been abandoned by Frein shortly after the shootings and a picture board containing military decals and a photo of Frein posing in Serbian military reenactment gear. Also found in the bedroom were boxes of ammunition, the contents of which were laid out on the courtroom floor before the jury, rifle clips, a rifle barrel and a night vision monocular container, along with a 1969 U.S. Army instruction manual.

Victims asked to provide details in civil suit against Frein’s parents

 

[Elley Mae]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-07-18-48-11

Authorities zeroed in on Frein after a resident who was walking his dog in a wooded area 2 miles from the barracks spotted a 2001 Jeep partly submerged in a pond and called 911. Police found shell casings inside the vehicle that matched those found at the shooting scene. The Jeep was registered to Frein's parents and used by him.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Manhunt Questions Surface Following Eric Frein Trial on Monday

http://wnep.com/2017/04/10/brief-day-in-court-for-eric-frein-on-monday/

It was a brief day in court Monday in the trial of Eric Frein due to the observance of Passover.

There was only two and a half hours of testimony from investigators in Pike County Court. It included the face of the weeks-long manhunt: Pennsylvania State Police Major George Bivens who described the magnitude of the search for Frein.

His testimony was followed by U.S. Marshals who captured Frein.

Boxes of evidence were brought into court Monday morning, including handwritten notes that were found in garbage bags near a campsite in Monroe County.

Marshals testified to searching the area and finding Frein unarmed then Frein told them where to find rifles and a pistol so that no kids got their hands on them.

The manhunt for Frein took 48 days and cost more than $11 million, much of that in overtime pay for troopers who seemingly left no stone unturned across Pike and Monroe counties.

Newswatch 16 asked Major Bivens whether the abandoned resort, which was within the 300-plus square mile area where troopers were systematically searching, had been in fact searched before.

"No, that specific location had not been searched prior," the recently demoted Bivens said. "It was one of many areas that remained to be searched and we were systematically hitting each one of those areas over that entire multi-week period."

But back when Newswatch 16 interviewed Bivens immediately after the manhunt and capture, he had this to say about searching Birchwood, where Frein was found after 48 days.

"We have searched that area previously probably within the last week or so. Prior to that, we had teams up through there. There's just no way to search and secure an area, so you search it and if he's not there or located you move onto the next area and you keep pushing until ultimately successful," said Bivens on October 31, 2014.

Eric Frein's attorney wouldn't speculate on how long Frein was holed up at the airplane hangar.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-eric-frein-trial-jurors-watch-interview-0411-20170411-story.html

The man charged in the fatal ambush of a Pennsylvania state police barracks told authorities on the night of his capture, "I did this. No one else did," according to a videotaped interview played for jurors Tuesday.

Prosecutors showed the video that police recorded on Oct. 30, 2014, hours after Eric Frein was captured after spending 48 days on the run in the Pocono Mountains.

"All I can say is I'm sorry," Frein, now 33, told police investigators in an interview room at the Blooming Grove barracks in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The video shows two state police interrogators pressing Frein for answers on why he targeted two troopers whom he said he did not know.

"Thirty-one. Still living with my parents. No prospect for any sort of future ... drive a truck or something," he told them.

http://www.poconorecord.com/news/20170411/frein-statement-i-did-this-and-nobody-else-did

Leaning in close to Frein and putting one hand on Frein’s arm, Clark spoke in a low tone of voice. Clark’s manner was not bullying or intimidating, but instead projected an aura in efforts to make Frein feel comfortable and invited to open up.

“I don’t want anything happening to me when I walk out of these doors (the way it had happened to Cpl. Bryon Dickson who was killed),” Clark told Frein. “I have children. I need to know if there’s anyone else out there posing a threat to law enforcement or the public in general. I need to know if anyone else acted with you.”

Frein asked, “How can I convince you?”

Clark said, “Look me in the eye and tell me you did this and nobody else did.”

Frein looked him in the eye and said in a voice equally low but audible enough, “I did this and nobody else did.”

This is what was captured during the first portion of the three-hour videotaped interview played in court Tuesday morning, the sixth day of Frein’s trial.

Frein told police he wasn’t going to discuss any crimes, but would tell them where the guns were. Later during the interview, he struggled with tears as he said, “A father won’t be going home,” referring to whom police believe was Dickson.

Later, when asked if the first two shots fired hit Dickson, he said “Yes.”

When asked if he heard Dickson yell when hit by the first bullet, Frein gave a silent, tearful nod. When asked if Dickson had said anything when shot, Frein said, “He just yelled.”

Then, when asked if Douglass was hit by the third shot, Frein again said “yes.”

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/04/eric_frein_trial_video_played.html

Clark, at one point, told Frein there were Facebook pages from groups that supported him and asked what he would tell them.

Frein seemed like he wanted to discourage anyone else from doing this and said, "Read the Bible," and recommended they "start with the New Testament."

During his time hiding in the woods, he told the investigators he lived on MRE-like rations and that he had been privy to some of the media accounts of the situation.

He told the troopers he never had contact with another person until he was arrested and said the reports of several Frein sightings were all false.

"That's a bear. Sorry," Frein said about a reported sighting of him crossing the road, wearing all black.

Also, "Some websites I've seen think I'm a right-wing extremist," Frein said, pointing out that's not the case.

Clark did ask about Frein's fascination with the eastern European military and some of the images and video that surfaced with him issuing commands in the Serbian language. Frein said it was just a hobby, though, and no greater connection should be drawn.

He did see - from a distance - the troopers, officers and agents from various departments who were out looking for them, but he said he never thought about harming any of them.