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.
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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.
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