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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1995)
Bjorklund asks court for new trial By Jeff Zeleny Senior Reporter Two days short of the third anni versary of discovering Candice Harms’ body in a shallow grave east of Lincoln, her killer requested anew trial. Roger Bjorklund’s attorney asked the Supreme Court Monday for a new first-degree murder trial because the jury in his 1993 trial was influenced by prayers led by District Court Judge Donald Endacott. Chief Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender, Scott Helvie, said the prayer, which jurors recalled as being similar to “God be with us,” set the tone for the entire trial. Helvie said ifjurors had God on their minds during the four-week trial, Bjorklund’s First Amendment rights were violated. “It affected the whole frame work of the trial,” Helvie said. “There’s no question that God was part of the trial.” Bjorklund was sentenced to death Sept. 20,1994, for the brutal 1992 slaying of Harms. The UNL - freshman was missing for about 12 weeks, and authorities had no solid leads until Scott Barney led police to her grave. Barney, who was arrested with Bjorklund in a string of Lincoln robberies, also was convicted in Harms’ death. Barney was sen tenced to life in prison after making a plea bargain with prosecutors. Chief Deputy Lancaster County Attorney John Colborn said Endacott’s prayer was a “harmless error” and did not bias the jury. Bjorklund referred to God many times during the trial, Colborn said. Minutes into Helvie’s opening statements, Supreme Court Judge D. Nick Caporale asked defense attorneys why they didn ’t challenge Endacott before he said he was go ing to make remarks to the jury after they were selected in Sidney. Caporale said that any judge praying and hugging jurors is “un precedented, if not bizarre,” but it should have been stopped by de fense attorneys at the time — not three years later. “It affected the whole framework of the trial There’s no question that God was part of the trial ” SCOTT HELVIE Chief Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender “Isn’t the general rule that you can’t gamble on the rights and then complain about it later?” Caporale asked Helvie. In hindsight, Helvie said, he should have asked Endacott to make his remarks on the record after the jury was selected in Cheyenne County. Helvie said the 12-mem ber jury, the judge and bailiffJoyce Willey had a personal relationship. “They called the bailiff mom and hugged the j udge and planned a gift exchange and a summer picnic in Sidney,” Helvie said. In the state’s remarks, Colbom also said the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction in this appeal be cause the motion for a new trial was filed before Bj orklund’s conviction. The Supreme Court can only hear cases that have been decided. “If this court were to hold other wise, it would create chaos in our criminal justice system,” Colbom said. Because Bj orklund was sen tenced to death, a mandatory ap peal was filed upon his conviction. This appeal could be heard as early as February. The Supreme Court did not rule on the appeal for a new trial. Colbom said the decision could take months. Get No Service Charge Checking And A FREE Gift From FirsTier! Get a terrific FREE gift when you open any personal checking account at FirsTier. We have seven smart checking plans to meet your needs, including our popular No Service Charge Personal Checking Account. Keep a low $100 minimum balance, and there are: • No monthly service fees • No per check charges • No limit on the number of checks you write! • And for 24-hour access to your money, every FirsTier diecking account comes with a FirsTier Teller ATM card. With FirsTier Account Line, you can do your banking from any phone, seven days a week, and your satisfaction is guaranteed in writing. FirsTier Student VISA* Card A credit card with no annual fee. Plus with approved credit, you'll receive a minimum $500 line of credit. FirsTier Student Loans We have federally subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Parent Loans for Students (PLUS). For details, call (800) 735-6799. Unwrap a better checking account! See FirsTier Today! . .v FirsTier _ You're First Here" Gambling operation disrupted By Ted Taylor Staff Reporter ~ Four men, including two UNL stu dents, have been arrested on suspicion of running an on-going gambling op eration. Lincoln police served a search warrant Sunday at 1414 S. Ninth St. after a two-month investigation into the bookmaking operation, which handled bets for college and profes sional football games. Police seized bettor lists contain ing about 150 names, spreadsheets, business cards, $2,254 in cash, a Toshiba 54-inch, big-screen televi sion, two cellular phones, two digital pagers, telephones and recording equipment all thought to have been used to promote the alleged gambling. Andrew Shipshock, a senior agri cultural science and natural resources major, and Gary Relic, 29, were at the home when the Technical Investiga tion Unit entered the house at 2:45 p.m. Investigator Alan Townsend said Relic was taking bets over the phone when police entered the house. For the next 15 minutes after police entered the home, he said, Investiga tor Dennis Duckworth took two or three more calls involving more than $1,000 ii\bets. Blaine Goocher, 25, also was ar rested when he arrived at the home later, Townsend said. Mark Ostiansky, a sophomore busi ness administration major and mem ber of Delta Upsi Ion fraternity, was notified ofthe warrant and turned him self in to police Monday morning. Delta Upsi Ion President Bret Bailey, who is Ostransky’s roommate, would not comment on the case. He said no action would be taken against his roommate at this time. Townsend said police were still searching for a fifth man believed to be involved in the operation. They also are investigating similar opera tions and may be questioning those whose names appear on the bettor lists obtained Sunday. Lincoln ronce received a CrimeStoppers tip about the opera tion in October and had been monitor ing phone calls to and from the house since then. Police also had obtained trash from the house that provided enough evi dence for the warrant to be served, Townsend said. Goocher and Relic were charged with promoting gambling, a first-de gree misdemeanor, and released. Shipshock and Ostransky also were released after being charged with sec ond-degree misdemeanors. The first-degree misdemeanor car ries a possible one- year prison sen tence and $1,000 fine with a convic tion. The second-degree misdemean ors carry a six-month sentence and $ 1,000 fine with a conviction. Jayne Wade Anderson, director of Greek Affairs, said she had not heard about the incident and could not com ment pending a further investigation. Vice Chancellor for Student Af fairs James Griesen said that ifthe off campus violation directly affected the educational interests of UNL students, the case could fall under university jurisdiction. “If a number of patrons of that operation were students, I would be very concerned,” he said. American Heart S^k Associations-^^ Fighting Heart Disease and Stroke AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION MEMORIALS & TRIBUTES 1-800-AHA-USA1 This space provided as a public service. , ©1994, American Heart Association