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http://www.theolympian.com/377/story/1093462.html?storylink=omni_popular
Published January 07, 2010
JOSH FARLEY
A Bremerton man who refused to plead guilty to a gun crime, despite being offered a deal that would allow him to avoid jail time, was convicted by a Kitsap County Superior Court jury on Wednesday.
Luke T. Groves, 37, was convicted of two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm after a three-day trial. He contends he wasn't notified that his 1990 burglary conviction carried with it a lifetime firearms prohibition and he refused to take a plea deal offered by county prosecutors.
The standard sentencing range for the crimes he was convicted of Wednesday is 31 to 41 months in prison. He will be sentenced by Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen on Jan. 29.
After the verdict was read, Groves hugged his wife, Rebecca, and was hadcuffed and led away to the Kitsap County jail.
Groves called police in late November 2008 after he returned home to find a broken window in his Hewitt Avenue house. He says he told officers that his wife owned a rifle and handgun.
Nothing had been stolen from the home, but Groves was arrested for being a felon in possession of firearms. He had been convicted of breaking into a Shelton school in 1990. Groves moved in with his wife, who owned the two guns, in 2003.
The three officers who investigated the incident at his house testified for the prosecution at Groves' trial. Only Groves took the stand in his own defense.
During closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Giovanna Mosca painted a simple picture for jurors: Groves had the guns in his "dominion and control," and that was enough for a conviction.
Mosca used a metaphor to make her case: When you rent a movie or check out a book from the library, "you don't own it, but you possess it," she said.
Groves' attorney, Marisa Bender, countered by saying that "while the accusation may be simple, this (case) takes place in the complexity of everyday real life."
"Little did he know what awaited him when he called 911 that day," Bender said.
To convict Groves, jurors had to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of three things: that he knowingly had possession or control of a firearm; that he is a convicted felon, and that the crime occurred in Kitsap County.
"I think the state showed their evidence, their case, pretty well," said juror Toby Johnson of Port Orchard. "It was pretty clear-cut."
Two of the 12 jurors said they began as "holdouts" who weren't convinced of Groves' guilt, mainly due to a conflicting statement one of the testifying officers gave about his response to the 2008 burglary.
But they said their minds were changed when Groves took the stand in his own defense.
"What convinced us is that he admitted he took the police to the guns," said juror Darci Baker-Spicer of Bremerton.
Much of the evidence Groves wanted to present at his trial was not allowed.
When Groves was sentenced for the Shelton burglary, no state law yet existed that required the courts to notify felons they couldn't possess firearms.
Groves did receive a notice from the state Department of Corrections that he wasn't allowed to have guns - but he believed that notice only applied during his probation, which ended years ago.
In arguing that point to dismiss the case in November, Bender said Groves was further confused because of his work as a federal firefighter. He disclosed his felony convictions to his employers, who allowed him to work with explosives.
But Olsen denied the motion to dismiss the case, and jurors were told that Groves was prohibited from owning guns even if the court in 1990 didn't notify him of it.
That left the issue of "possession" as the central issue of the trial. Deputy prosecutor Mosca, in cross-examining the defendant, asked if the guns were in a "shared bedroom." Groves said yes.
"And in fact, you led the officers to them," she followed.
"Yes," he replied.
Groves' wife, Rebecca Besherse, said she will petition to get the guns - a Remington .22-caliber long rifle and an Accu-Tek .380 handgun - returned to her. She'd like to sell them, now that her husband will be in prison and not at work. But she's not getting her hopes up.
She said she harbors no ill will toward the jury and wasn't surprised by the verdict.
"They did exactly what they were told to do," she said.
But she still can't understand her husband is in jail because of guns she owned before they even met.
"I did not become a felon by marrying him," she said.
Besherse said they'll appeal the conviction.
She'll soon head to the local Department of Social and Health Services office to apply for benefits on behalf of their 4-year-old daughter, Sophim. As a child of an incarcerated parent, the state will pay for housing, Besherse believes.
Besherse said that Groves "hugged our daughter this morning, and told her he might not see her for three years. But that he loved her and it was not her fault."
http://www.theolympian.com/377/story/1093462.html?storylink=omni_popular
Published January 07, 2010
JOSH FARLEY
A Bremerton man who refused to plead guilty to a gun crime, despite being offered a deal that would allow him to avoid jail time, was convicted by a Kitsap County Superior Court jury on Wednesday.
Luke T. Groves, 37, was convicted of two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm after a three-day trial. He contends he wasn't notified that his 1990 burglary conviction carried with it a lifetime firearms prohibition and he refused to take a plea deal offered by county prosecutors.
The standard sentencing range for the crimes he was convicted of Wednesday is 31 to 41 months in prison. He will be sentenced by Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen on Jan. 29.
After the verdict was read, Groves hugged his wife, Rebecca, and was hadcuffed and led away to the Kitsap County jail.
Groves called police in late November 2008 after he returned home to find a broken window in his Hewitt Avenue house. He says he told officers that his wife owned a rifle and handgun.
Nothing had been stolen from the home, but Groves was arrested for being a felon in possession of firearms. He had been convicted of breaking into a Shelton school in 1990. Groves moved in with his wife, who owned the two guns, in 2003.
The three officers who investigated the incident at his house testified for the prosecution at Groves' trial. Only Groves took the stand in his own defense.
During closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Giovanna Mosca painted a simple picture for jurors: Groves had the guns in his "dominion and control," and that was enough for a conviction.
Mosca used a metaphor to make her case: When you rent a movie or check out a book from the library, "you don't own it, but you possess it," she said.
Groves' attorney, Marisa Bender, countered by saying that "while the accusation may be simple, this (case) takes place in the complexity of everyday real life."
"Little did he know what awaited him when he called 911 that day," Bender said.
To convict Groves, jurors had to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of three things: that he knowingly had possession or control of a firearm; that he is a convicted felon, and that the crime occurred in Kitsap County.
"I think the state showed their evidence, their case, pretty well," said juror Toby Johnson of Port Orchard. "It was pretty clear-cut."
Two of the 12 jurors said they began as "holdouts" who weren't convinced of Groves' guilt, mainly due to a conflicting statement one of the testifying officers gave about his response to the 2008 burglary.
But they said their minds were changed when Groves took the stand in his own defense.
"What convinced us is that he admitted he took the police to the guns," said juror Darci Baker-Spicer of Bremerton.
Much of the evidence Groves wanted to present at his trial was not allowed.
When Groves was sentenced for the Shelton burglary, no state law yet existed that required the courts to notify felons they couldn't possess firearms.
Groves did receive a notice from the state Department of Corrections that he wasn't allowed to have guns - but he believed that notice only applied during his probation, which ended years ago.
In arguing that point to dismiss the case in November, Bender said Groves was further confused because of his work as a federal firefighter. He disclosed his felony convictions to his employers, who allowed him to work with explosives.
But Olsen denied the motion to dismiss the case, and jurors were told that Groves was prohibited from owning guns even if the court in 1990 didn't notify him of it.
That left the issue of "possession" as the central issue of the trial. Deputy prosecutor Mosca, in cross-examining the defendant, asked if the guns were in a "shared bedroom." Groves said yes.
"And in fact, you led the officers to them," she followed.
"Yes," he replied.
Groves' wife, Rebecca Besherse, said she will petition to get the guns - a Remington .22-caliber long rifle and an Accu-Tek .380 handgun - returned to her. She'd like to sell them, now that her husband will be in prison and not at work. But she's not getting her hopes up.
She said she harbors no ill will toward the jury and wasn't surprised by the verdict.
"They did exactly what they were told to do," she said.
But she still can't understand her husband is in jail because of guns she owned before they even met.
"I did not become a felon by marrying him," she said.
Besherse said they'll appeal the conviction.
She'll soon head to the local Department of Social and Health Services office to apply for benefits on behalf of their 4-year-old daughter, Sophim. As a child of an incarcerated parent, the state will pay for housing, Besherse believes.
Besherse said that Groves "hugged our daughter this morning, and told her he might not see her for three years. But that he loved her and it was not her fault."
