Hellcat
Registered
Man Innocent in Attack on Woman
Jurors say the 20-year-old did not club a black woman from his moving car.
By Jeff Scullin
The Ledger
jeff.scullin@theledger.com
BARTOW -- During more than a year of court hearings, prosecutors depicted James Draper as a racist who, on at least two occasions, targeted and clubbed innocent black victims from a moving car.
But a different picture emerged Wednesday. Jurors found the 20year-old Lakeland man not guilty of aggravated battery in the August 2002 attack on Ife Morrison, a black woman who was hit in the back of the head while taking a walk.
After waiting about an hour while jurors deliberated, Bob Draper said he felt that his so
, whom he has maintained all along is not a racist, had been vindicated.
"I'm glad it's over," he said. "It's a long time coming."
Defense lawyers, who called n
o w
tnesses, argued that Lakeland police had rushed to judgment
in charging Draper and had conducted a shoddy investigation that obscured the truth of the attack on Morrison. They argued that one of Draper's passengers was more likely the person who clubbed Morrison the night of Aug. 13, 2002.
"One of the three of them could have been sitting over there in that chair if they hadn't gotten their stories straight," said d*ck Mars, pointing to the defense table where Draper was sitting.
All three of Draper's passengers testified for the prosecution Wednesday. They told jurors they were riding around Lakeland in Draper's PT Cruiser the night Morrison was attacked, looking for something to do. The two back-seat passengers, Aaron Roddenberry and Austin Stillinger, testif
ied that Draper circled the block after spotting Morrison, who had left her Valencia Street home about five minutes earlier after a fight with her sister.
"I didn't think he was going to
hit her,&q
uot; Roddenberry said. "I didn't believe he would do that."
At a January 2003 hearing
, Roddenberry testified that, as Draper was heading back for Morrison, he asked his buddies if they wanted to get her. Roddenberry said he could hear the sound of the 18-inch fiberglass billy club Draper kept in his car cracking against Morrison's head from the back seat.
But Draper's lawyers said Roddenberry and Stillinger had time and reason to shift blame onto Draper.
The billy club was in Roddenberry's lap when police stopped Draper's car as it was leaving Addair Park, where the boys had been hanging out and drinking beer at the skate park.
Roddenberry, the son of a retired Lakeland police captain, kicked the club and a slapjack he had brought along un
der the seat in front of him while Stillinger crushed a beer box, according to their testimonies.
Defense lawyer Tony Dodds said the two had plenty of time to cook up a story blaming Draper f
or the attack on Mo
rrison while Lakeland police were questioning him outside the car.
Dodds also questioned why police had never tested th
e billy club, slapjack or a beer bottle Morrison's sister found near the crime scene for fingerprints or evidence of an assault.
"This case is ate up with reasonable doubt," Dodds told jurors.
Much of what happened the night Morrison was attacked never surfaced at Draper's trial, nor did his ugly past.
The most gaping hole was Morrison, who never appeared for the trial or testified. Her sister, Damali Heron, told jurors her sister moved about two weeks after the attack and that she hadn't seen her since. Prosecutors also were unable to locate her.
A search of Draper's car turned up a green coat adorned with patches
bearing white supremacist and skinhead symbols, police said.
During the January 2003 hearing, witnesses described how Draper used to make disparaging remarks about blacks and J*ws and seem
ed to identify with white
supremacist groups.
Jurors also never learned of Draper's prior conviction for attacking two young black boys with a bat in November 2001. Draper hit one
of the boys, who were riding their bicycles on North New York Avenue in Lakeland, in the back but missed his brother. Officers who stopped Draper's PT Cruiser after the assault found a black bat, ski mask and white supremacist materials in the car.
Draper pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery in that case and was sentenced to two years' probation. After being arrested for the attack on Morrison, a judge revoked his probation and ordered him to serve the two years behind bars. He has been in the Polk County Jail since August 2002.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../405130393/1004
Jurors say the 20-year-old did not club a black woman from his moving car.
By Jeff Scullin
The Ledger
jeff.scullin@theledger.com
BARTOW -- During more than a year of court hearings, prosecutors depicted James Draper as a racist who, on at least two occasions, targeted and clubbed innocent black victims from a moving car.
But a different picture emerged Wednesday. Jurors found the 20year-old Lakeland man not guilty of aggravated battery in the August 2002 attack on Ife Morrison, a black woman who was hit in the back of the head while taking a walk.
After waiting about an hour while jurors deliberated, Bob Draper said he felt that his so
, whom he has maintained all along is not a racist, had been vindicated.
"I'm glad it's over," he said. "It's a long time coming."
Defense lawyers, who called n
o w
tnesses, argued that Lakeland police had rushed to judgment
in charging Draper and had conducted a shoddy investigation that obscured the truth of the attack on Morrison. They argued that one of Draper's passengers was more likely the person who clubbed Morrison the night of Aug. 13, 2002.
"One of the three of them could have been sitting over there in that chair if they hadn't gotten their stories straight," said d*ck Mars, pointing to the defense table where Draper was sitting.
All three of Draper's passengers testified for the prosecution Wednesday. They told jurors they were riding around Lakeland in Draper's PT Cruiser the night Morrison was attacked, looking for something to do. The two back-seat passengers, Aaron Roddenberry and Austin Stillinger, testif
ied that Draper circled the block after spotting Morrison, who had left her Valencia Street home about five minutes earlier after a fight with her sister.
"I didn't think he was going to
hit her,&q
uot; Roddenberry said. "I didn't believe he would do that."
At a January 2003 hearing
, Roddenberry testified that, as Draper was heading back for Morrison, he asked his buddies if they wanted to get her. Roddenberry said he could hear the sound of the 18-inch fiberglass billy club Draper kept in his car cracking against Morrison's head from the back seat.
But Draper's lawyers said Roddenberry and Stillinger had time and reason to shift blame onto Draper.
The billy club was in Roddenberry's lap when police stopped Draper's car as it was leaving Addair Park, where the boys had been hanging out and drinking beer at the skate park.
Roddenberry, the son of a retired Lakeland police captain, kicked the club and a slapjack he had brought along un
der the seat in front of him while Stillinger crushed a beer box, according to their testimonies.
Defense lawyer Tony Dodds said the two had plenty of time to cook up a story blaming Draper f
or the attack on Mo
rrison while Lakeland police were questioning him outside the car.
Dodds also questioned why police had never tested th
e billy club, slapjack or a beer bottle Morrison's sister found near the crime scene for fingerprints or evidence of an assault.
"This case is ate up with reasonable doubt," Dodds told jurors.
Much of what happened the night Morrison was attacked never surfaced at Draper's trial, nor did his ugly past.
The most gaping hole was Morrison, who never appeared for the trial or testified. Her sister, Damali Heron, told jurors her sister moved about two weeks after the attack and that she hadn't seen her since. Prosecutors also were unable to locate her.
A search of Draper's car turned up a green coat adorned with patches
bearing white supremacist and skinhead symbols, police said.
During the January 2003 hearing, witnesses described how Draper used to make disparaging remarks about blacks and J*ws and seem
ed to identify with white
supremacist groups.
Jurors also never learned of Draper's prior conviction for attacking two young black boys with a bat in November 2001. Draper hit one
of the boys, who were riding their bicycles on North New York Avenue in Lakeland, in the back but missed his brother. Officers who stopped Draper's PT Cruiser after the assault found a black bat, ski mask and white supremacist materials in the car.
Draper pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery in that case and was sentenced to two years' probation. After being arrested for the attack on Morrison, a judge revoked his probation and ordered him to serve the two years behind bars. He has been in the Polk County Jail since August 2002.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../405130393/1004