State Supreme Court Asked To Review Gingerich Case
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana attorney general asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to decide whether a Cromwell boy convicted as an adult at age 12 of killing his friend’s stepfather should receive a new trial or remain in the state prison system. The office filed a request to review a December state appeals court ruling that said a county judge improperly decided a week after Paul Gingerich’s arrest that he could be charged as an adult. Defense attorney Monica Foster said Gingerich was a young boy whose case was mishandled by the local judge and that the attorney general’s appeal is disgraceful. Gingerich, who turns 15 in February, is serving a 25-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of 49-year-old Phillip Danner in a plot with two other boys to run away to Arizona. Danner was the stepfather of Colt Lundy, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the case. He received the same sentence as Gingerich – 25 years in prison and five years probation. Lundy was 15 at the time of the shooting. The third suspect in the case, Chase Williams, was not involved in the actual shooting, but waited outside Danner’s home and fled with Lundy and Gingerich afterward. He was charged with assisting a criminal, which would have been a Class C felony if committed by an adult. Williams, 12 at the time of the shooting, was sentenced to six years in juvenile detention. He was released in January 2011. Danner suffered four gunshot wounds. Shots were fired by both Lundy and Gingerich, court records indicate. The shooting occurred April 19, 2010. The three boys were captured in Peru, Ill., after a Walmart employee became suspicious when they attempted to convert a large of amount of coins to cash at 2 a.m. April 20, 2010. Police arrived to find a handgun and a small amount of marijuana in the car the boys were driving. Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s filing argues that letting the appeals court ruling stand would bring uncertainty to the plea bargaining process, under which defendants agree to give up their right to appeal in exchange for typically lighter sentences. ‘‘Balancing the interests of justice when an offender is so young is extremely difficult,’’ Zoeller said in a statement. ‘‘In working with prosecutors, my office is concerned about not setting a precedent that would allow violent offenders to back out of their plea agreements after pleading guilty.’’ A Kosciusko County judge had ordered Gingerich could be tried as an adult on murder charges after a two-hour hearing that was held a week after the boy’s arrest. Gingerich’s defense attorney had protested that they didn’t have enough time to prepare for the hearing or to conduct a psychological examination. Foster said she believed the circumstances of Gingerich’s case were so unique that the attorney general’s appeal was a ‘‘disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ money and resources.’’ ‘‘There is no reasonable person that would believe that what happened in that trial court came anywhere close to meeting the values of due process that are enshrined in our constitution,’’ Foster said. The Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Gingerich had not received the due process to which he was entitled and ordered a new juvenile court hearing. The court rejected the state’s arguments that Gingerich had given up his right to appeal as part of the plea agreement and found that a probation officer had provided the trial judge misinformation about the availability of private detention facilities. The attorney general’s office said that its request to the Indiana Supreme Court means that Gingerich will remain in Department of Correction custody until the court takes action.
