Friday, March 17, 2006
The prosecutor said the civil suit could jeopardize the murder investigation.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A judge is to rule on a civil action stemming from a murder case that has put the legal system here in an unusual situation.
Judge C. Ashley Pike of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court said Thursday he would make his decision in a few weeks. "This is a rather unique proceeding," Judge Pike said.
Salem Atty. Robert Guehl represents the estate of Craig Roberts, who was shot to death in his Wellsville home in 2002.
Prosecutor Robert Herron said during the hearing that the investigation into Roberts' murder is ongoing and active.
Guehl says he wants to take depositions from people involved in the case as part of evidence gathering for a potential civil lawsuit against the killer. Guehl said such actions protect evidence that might otherwise be lost.
But Guehl also wants to interview the lawyers for three people who knew Roberts, police, assistant prosecutors and others. He also wants the prosecutor's office to turn over information from its investigation, contending the documents are public record and not confidential investigative information.
Motion to dismiss
Herron filed a motion to dismiss Guehl's lawsuit, saying it could interfere with the murder investigation by opening police, the prosecutor's staff and grand jury testimony to inspection.
"Witnesses can be intimidated; evidence can be tampered with or destroyed," Herron said. "That's why a criminal investigation should not be allowed to become a free-for-all."
The prosecutor told the judge the investigation has "clearly identified a suspect." He did not name the suspect.
Herron said he also did not think the civil lawsuit would be beneficial.
Guehl wants to interview Chrystal L. Tice, who was Roberts' girlfriend; and Dana Chaffins and Larry Wells, who were Roberts' friends.
Their lawyers told Judge Pike they had concerns that discussing the case in the civil lawsuit could violate lawyer-client confidentiality.
The lawyers added that they didn't understand why they were part of the Guehl case. They said that the Roberts family, by law, would have two years after a conviction to bring a lawsuit against the killer.
Guehl said that all he knows about the case is what he has read in the newspapers. "My job is to nail down the facts," he added.
wilkinson@vindy.com