Defense Presses Attack On Star Witness Lawyers Say Robbery Guns Belonged To Military Surplus Dealer
The government’s star witness owned some of the guns used in Spokane’s bombings and robberies last year, defense attorneys suggested in court Wednesday.
And key witness Christopher Davidson Jr. was the one who sent threatening letters to a newspaper and Planned Parenthood after their offices were bombed last April and July, the defense asserted.
In hostile cross-examination of the military surplus dealer, defense attorneys repeatedly pointed out Davidson had no proof that three Sandpoint men committed the crimes.
They contend Davidson was involved in the robberies and bombings and is fingering his former friends to avoid prosecution.
Charles Barbee, 45, Robert Berry, 42, and Verne Jay Merrell, 51, are charged with bombing the Spokane Valley offices of The Spokesman-Review, Planned Parenthood and U.S. Bank, and twice robbing the bank.
On Tuesday, Davidson told a U.S. District Court jury that he went to the FBI because he feared the three men would kill someone during their next crime.
Davidson testified about details of the crimes he said the suspects shared with him during spring and summer of 1996. He secretly recorded some of his conversations at the direction of federal agents.
On Wednesday, defense attorneys continued their assertion that Davidson came forward to collect a $130,000 reward and to keep from being prosecuted himself.
Defense attorney Roger Peven even pointed out Davidson visited with a Spokane author before the trial to talk about his story.
“I was exploring the possibility of writing a book about this case,” Davidson told a jury.
“Presumably for money?” Peven asked.
“Yes.”
Peven suggested Davidson had bought a Ruger revolver similar to ones seen on bank surveillance videos from the two robberies. He also accused Davidson of trading Berry military gear for a Benelli shotgun - a rare Italian weapon also seen on the videos - before the crimes.
“You took possession of the Benelli in January 1996, did you not?” Peven asked.
“No,” Davidson said.
“You traded them for ballistic shields, did you not?”
“No.”
During his questioning, Peven stabbed a finger toward the nervous Davidson and once snapped, “You listen to my question!”
Defense attorney John Rodgers, meanwhile, spoke almost tenderly, but his questions, too, quickly turned pointed. Rodgers demanded to know why the suspects said nothing about the crimes during their taped conversations with Davidson.
Davidson said he didn’t ask the three men many questions because he feared it would scare them off.
To show he at least tried, prosecutors played a recording of Berry, Barbee and Davidson made in a warehouse Oct. 2 while the three men were loading equipment onto a truck.
On the tape, Davidson is heard asking Berry about threatening letters mailed to the newspaper and Planned Parenthood after the bombings.
“I can’t believe you sent those letters,” Davidson says on the tape.
“Sent the letters?” Berry asks. “Letters?”
Davidson said Berry wouldn’t admit anything because Barbee was present and because the three men typically “cloaked” references to their crimes.
Defense attorneys suggested Berry had no idea what Davidson was talking about.
Davidson is expected to return to the stand when defense attorneys present their own case.
Prosecutors have called 60 of their 80 witnesses, and expect to rest their case this week.
Berry, Barbee and Merrell are charged with a dozen felonies and face mandatory life sentences and up to $3 million in fines if convicted.
, DataTimes