Thursday, August 11, 2016
Johnny Small: North Carolina; (Alleged police coersion of key prosecution witness (David Bollinger) who recanted his evidence more than two decades later): Bulletin: Hearing continues: Star News reports that retired Wilmington Police Department lieutenant James JJ Lightner - called by the defence - denied Wednesday he threatened a teenager in 1988 with the death penalty to get him to testify against then-15-year-old Johnny Small in a murder case for which Small was ultimately convicted. Reporter F.T. Norton;
"A former Wilmington police officer denied Wednesday he threatened a teenager in 1988 with the death penalty to get him to testify against then-15-year-old Johnny Small in a murder case for which Small was ultimately convicted. Retired Wilmington Police Department lieutenant James JJ Lightner was called by Small's defense team in the third day of a motion hearing before Superior Court Judge W. Douglas Parsons in New Hanover County Court. The hearing is aimed at getting Small's 1989 conviction in the killing of Pamela Dreher vacated or retried. Dreher was found dead in her Wrightsville Avenue tropical fish store on the evening of July 13, 1988. Small's friend David Bollinger testified for the state in the murder trial, saying he drove Small to the store to use the phone there. He said, Small emerged after a few minutes and later that evening confessed he'd robbed Dreher and killed her Then in 2012, after Small had already served more than two decades of a life sentence in prison, Bollinger contacted the NC Center on Actual Innocence to say he'd been forced to lie by Lightner. Testimony recanted: During his testimony Monday and Tuesday, Bollinger said Lightner threatened to charge him with the crime if the then-18-year-old didn't write a statement naming Small as the killer. Police were led to Small and Bollinger by a tip to a reward hotline two months after the killing. Bollinger's classmate at New Hanover High School, Nina Raiford, told police she saw Small leaving the shop around the time of the killing and getting into a brown car driven by Bollinger. On Monday, Bollinger said that despite his denials of involvement, Lightner told him what to write in his statement to police and, during several meetings, Lightner coached him on his testimony before the jury. Little else linked Small to the crime besides Bollinger's testimony. There was no physical evidence found at the scene and the gun prosecutors allege Small used in the killing was never recovered by Wilmington police. In court this week Bollinger recanted his entire testimony and said he wasn't even with Small on the afternoon of the killing Along with Bollinger's recantation, Small's attorneys Christine Mumma, head of the NC Center on Actual Innocence, and Cheryl Sullivan, also with the center, called five other friends of Small who testified against him in the 1989 murder trial. Most said Lightner lied to them to get their cooperation or he coached or influenced their testimony. Few details remembered; For two hours Wednesday, Lightner answered questions from Mumma about his investigation into the Dreher killing. Mumma pointed out that many of the handwritten notes found in the WPD's file were favorable to Small were not found in the district attorney's file. They also were never given to Small's defense attorney at trial. Mumma questioned Lightner on whether he investigated any other suspects in the case -- specifically referring to three witnesses who reported seeing a pickup truck leaving the area at the time of the killing and a man who lived nearby that police knew had committed a crime with a handgun the same caliber as the one used in the Dreher killing. Lightner told Mumma he remembered few details about the investigation and had to refer to the trial transcripts. Mumma also noted at least two interviews Lightner conducted with Small's friends which he didn't memorialize on paper. Lightner admitted Wednesday he didn't take notes on interviews he conducted with Jennifer Long and Anna Florentis. Both women testified for Small during Tuesday's hearing, each saying Lightner lied to them about aspects of the case.........The missing gun: Lightner denied remembering if a ballistics expert analyzed bullets in the case. That information was also never given to the defense or brought up by the prosecution at trial. The only record of the analyses was found in the WPD file received by Mumma, according to the motion. For many of Mumma's questions, Lightner said he didn't remember or, when asked to review files, he pointed out he didn't write the report or that someone else was responsible At one point, Mumma asked Lightner about a typed report in the WPD file that stated Charlotte police found the gun prosecutors said was used in the killing. She directed Lightner to a note he'd written at the bottom. The report never made it to the DA's file. "I don't ever recall hearing 'the gun' was recovered by anybody," Lightner said, using air quotes. "But your handwriting is on this note," Mumma said.........Potential consequences: About interviewing Bollinger, Lightner said he only spoke to him once. "Would you ever mention the death penalty during an interrogation as a potential consequence for an act?" Mumma asked." "To me that would have been a good reason to have the defendant end the interview," Lightner said. "If you start threatening like that, I would think chances are they would say, 'I'm not talking to the cops, lets talk to a lawyer.'" "So you never...," Mumma began. "I don't remember ever threatening anybody for anything in an interview," Lightner said. He is expected to retake the stand when the hearing resumes Thursday morning."
