A Hole In One

by Paul Weininger

  “You name it and if I can do it, I will,” replied Jack enthusiastically, thinking he could repay him right away.

  “Detective Pratt told me that if they catch the shooter, I will have to testify in court. Can you pull some strings so that I won’t have to do that, Mr. Green? Since I didn’t see anything but just helped stop your bleeding, there really should be no reason for me to have to appear in court. I sure would be happy if you could arrange that and that would make us square,” Andre spoke hopefully.

  Jack gave it some thought and understood what Andre asked of him. It’s true that Andre didn’t witness anything and just heard shots and came out to see what was happening, and ended up saving his life.

  Green frequently played golf with the judge and thought that maybe he could throw a few clues at him when out on the fairway, about the lack of necessity in having Andre testify. He would do this as a personal favor. “I’ll see what I can do, Andre, but don’t get your hopes up too much. After all, they haven’t even caught the guy who’s been shooting at us. However, when the time comes, maybe I can help.”

  “Oh, thank you, Mr. Green, I mean Jack. Thank you so much. I’ll really appreciate it if you could.”

  Twenty-Six

  Ten minutes later, Jack entered the Courthouse and announced himself to the entry bailiff who sent him to the proper courtroom. When he came into the courtroom, he was noticed by D.A. Stanford, who stood up, faced the judge and said, “The people call Mr. Jack Green.” Green was sworn in and the D.A. began her questioning.

  “Mr. Green, would you please tell the jury what happened to you?”

  “I was at the synagogue to have lunch with my friend Rabbi Bloom, as I do two to three times per week. We ate in the back at his office’s conference table. When we were done, I walked out of the front of the synagogue to return to work. As I stepped outside, I heard what sounded like a firecracker, but then I felt a sharp pain on the lower side of my back. I blacked out and when I awoke I was in the hospital recovering from surgery. I learned my kidney had been hit, but I don’t remember the medical term of what was actually repaired.”

  “Is that all you remember?”

  “No, I remember after my surgery being told by the attending police officers, who had preceded the ambulance to the hospital, that a bullet had struck me, but another bullet had struck the side of the building. I was also informed that the synagogue’s wonderful custodian Andre saved my life by applying heavy pressure on my wound which was bleeding profusely, until the ambulance arrived.”

  “Since the time you were shot, have you learned anything about who may have wanted to harm you?”

  “Other than my three golfing partners, which might improve their game, I can’t think of anyone,” he replied. There was a chuckle in the gallery.

  The judge was not amused. “Mr. Green, this is a criminal court so please stop the jokes and keep your answers serious.”

  “I’m sorry, Your Honor, it won’t happen again.”

  “No further questions currently, Your Honor, but I reserve time to recall this witness,” said Stanford.

  “So noted. Mr. Jaxson, any questions for this witness?” asked Garnett.

  “Just one, Your Honor.” He approached the podium and asked, “Mr. Green, would you please point to Rabbi Bloom, if you see him in the courtroom.”

  Jack Green pointed at the defendant sitting in his chair. Bloom almost high-fived his lawyer for asking the witness to identify him, but held himself back from making a scene.

  “No more questions, Your Honor,” said the defense.

  “You are excused, Mr. Green. Remember that the prosecution has notified the court that she may need to call on you again. So, stay in town until the end of the trial.”

  The district attorney moved on. “The people call officer Rob McCoy to the stand.” McCoy was sworn in and sat down in the witness chair. “Officer McCoy, would you please tell the jury which police department you work for.”

  “The Sedona Police Department.”

  “Were you involved at all in investigating any of the four shootings?”

  “Yes, I was called by Detectives Sommerville and Pratt and ordered to check nearby residences close to the Rabbi’s home in Flagstaff, after his house had been shot at, to see if I could see footprints that the gunman may have left and to search for a weapon that may have been thrown away nearby.”

  “And what if anything did you learn?”

  “After the shots were fired at the Rabbi’s residence,” McCoy continued, “I was instructed to see if I could find an old greenish pickup truck on the road near the area. As I was cruising the neighborhood, I found a truck matching that description being driven on Millburn Rd. I stopped it, asked the driver to step out of the truck so we could speak to each other. There were other Flagstaff officers that also cruised around looking for such a truck.”

  “Can you describe the driver?”

  “He looked a little like an outlaw biker,” McCoy responded. “He had dirty fingernails, long hair and a goatee. His clothes were dirty too and I believe he was wearing a denim jacket and jeans.”

  “Did you search the truck?”

  “Since we had probable cause, I didn’t need a subpoena and he permitted me to search his truck. So yes, I searched his vehicle. All I found in the back of the truck was normal landscaping tools and gear.”

  “Did you question the driver and get his name?”

  “Yes, I asked him for his driver’s license and registration. I wrote down his name as he replied Dick and when I checked his driver’s license it identified him as Richard Straub.”

  “Were there any identifying names or markings on the truck?”

  “The side panels of the truck had magnetic signs attached that said Greenery Landscaping.”

  “Did you find any weapons on the truck?”

  “No, I didn’t. I then asked what he was doing in the area since his license had him residing in Sedona. He gave me the house addresses he had just worked at doing Greenery Landscaping work. I then notified Sommerville, then both Pratt and Sommerville directed me to check the residences I was given by the driver. I returned to those addresses and the owners confirmed that he had been there to work on their yards.”

  “Did you search his cab and under the driver’s seat for a weapon?”

  “No, that was a huge mistake of mine, I neglected to search under his seat,” he answered red faced.

  Obviously, McCoy was a newly academy-graduated officer. He should have known better than not to check the entire vehicle. The protocol was to tell the driver to exit the truck immediately as soon as he is stopped, so he would not have access to any weapon that might be hidden in the cab of the truck. Had the driver refused to permit him to search under his seat, he could have held the driver there in handcuffs for his own protection. Not doing so may have resulted in his having been shot.

  “I should have called for a supervisor, who would have come within ten minutes while I held the vehicle in place until he arrived. But since the guy’s references checked out, there didn’t seem to be any reason to hold him. But I regretfully admit that I didn’t follow protocol, and released the driver to continue on his way,” said McCoy.

  “No more questions,” she said, somewhat embarrassed by the incompetence of her police department.

  “Does the defense care to cross examine?” The judge expected that Jaxson would be stupid if he did, since no testimony damaging to the defendant was brought up by the last witness.

  “No, Your Honor,” said the defense.

  “We’ll recess until tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp,” said Garnett, banging his gavel to adjourn for the day.

  Twenty-Seven

  The next day, the court clerk repeated the same orders as he had done on previous days and introduced the judge, who opened the proceedings by asking the D.A. if she had any more witnesses. When she replied that she did, he told her to call her next witness.

  “The people call Detective Jason Sommerville.
”

  The detective walked into the courtroom in his fully pressed uniform and shined boots and was directed by the court clerk to the witness chair. Sommerville did as he was told and sat down. The clerk walked over to Jason and said, “Please stand, raise your right hand and place your left hand on the Bible. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

  “I do.”

  “You may sit down, Detective.”

  Stanford stood up and asked, “Detective Sommerville, were you involved in the discovery of a body on Rabbi Bloom’s property?”

  “Yes ma’am, I and my officers along with Detective Pratt found parts of a body in the Rabbi’s backyard.”

  “What made you go to his home in the first place?”

  “Our Flagstaff Fire Station #18 had seen dark smoke coming from a residential area right there and called us to ask if we had received a 911 call.”

  “What was your response to the fire department?” she asked him.

  “I personally responded to them and confirmed receiving a 911 call from the next-door neighbors of Rabbi Bloom, who notified us that the fire was in the Rabbi’s backyard. We immediately sent a black and white to the scene.”

  “Did the fire department come and extinguish the fire?”

  “No. The black and whites, who got there first, extinguished the fire with the extinguishers they carry in their trunks and I told the fire department we had it under control.”

  “Did you give the Rabbi a summons for igniting an illegal fire for burning leaves in his backyard and ask him about the skull?” Although she knew what answer to expect, she wanted to get it on the record.

  “No, we didn’t give him a summons for burning leaves. We arrested him, instead.”

  “Why would you arrest anyone for illegally burning leaves in their backyard instead of giving them just a summons?” she continued for the record, since again she already knew the answer.

  “Because we found parts of a murdered body under the ashes of the burnt leaves.”

  “What was the Rabbi charged with?”

  “Murder and desecration of a human body,” Sommerville answered.

  “Is he still in custody?” she asked.

  “He was in jail at the Flagstaff Police Department, but his congregation raised enough money to cover his bail. He has since been released,” Sommerville replied, sounding somewhat frustrated.

  “No more questions for this witness, Your Honor,” the D.A. announced.

  “Does the defense wish to cross?” asked Judge Garnett.

  “We do, Your Honor,” the defendant’s lawyer responded quickly.

  “Proceed.”

  “Detective Sommerville, why isn’t the District Attorney of Flagstaff presenting this case instead of the District Attorney from Sedona?”

  “Because D.A. Holland from Flagstaff is undergoing chemotherapy and is on official departmental leave until he is able to return. That’s why D.A. Stanford was given jurisdiction in our city by the mayor after D.A. Holland called him and asked him to permit her the jurisdiction she needed.”

  “May I approach the witness, Your Honor?” Jaxson asked.

  “You may.”

  As he came within ten feet of the witness, he faced the jury and very smugly asked, “Tell me, Detective, if a resident found a dead cat, dog, or even a deer in their backyard, would you arrest them for animal cruelty?”

  Jason smiled inwardly and answered, “Well, that depends on the facts. If that resident shot what they claimed to be a nuisance animal on their own property, then probably not. If he were just violating the ordinance against open burning, we’d probably give him a ticket. But in this case, we had witnesses who saw this resident place a rolled-up bundle on the ground, cover it with leaves and then set it ablaze. This could still mean just a ticket and a fine, but when a burnt bundle contains a human skull with a bullet hole in it, then yes sir, we arrest him.”

  Taken aback a little by that answer, Jaxson regained his composure and returned to the defendant’s table. He proceeded with another question, “You mean to tell me that you actually have witnesses who saw the Rabbi shoot the victim?”

  D.A. Stanford was impressed with the defendant counsel’s ability to take his foot out of his mouth.

  “No,” said the detective. “We have no witnesses who saw the Rabbi shoot anyone but...”

  Jaxson stopped him in mid-sentence by objecting. “The witness has already answered my question with a negative response and may therefore not continue answering a question that wasn’t asked.”

  “Sustained. Detective, do not continue to answer further, unless another question is asked of you,” said the judge while facing the detective in the chair.

  “Thank you, Your Honor, I have no further questions for this witness.”

  The judge then turned to the district attorney and asked, “Madam D.A., do you wish to redirect?”

  “I do, Your Honor,” she replied.

  She stood at her table for greater emphasis and asked, “Detective Sommerville, you testified that you have no witnesses who saw the Rabbi kill the body found in his backyard, so why did you arrest him?”

  “Because a murdered person was dead at his premises. He may have killed the person inside of his own home so there could be no witnesses. However, we did have witnesses who saw the Rabbi pull a bundle from his back door, lay it on the ground, rake debris over that bundle and set it on fire, as I just testified. A little later we found the partial remains of a man within the burned debris.”

  “Isn’t he permitted to get rid of an old carpet if he chose to do so?” she asked facetiously.

  “Yes, he is permitted to get rid of an old carpet with his trash, but not to create a fire hazard for the entire community. As I said, we probably wouldn’t arrest him for that. We arrested him because there were the remains of a dead body in the ashes!”

  “So, what makes you think it was murder? Perhaps he had a visitor who had a heart attack. Wouldn’t the Rabbi then only be accused of improperly disposing of a dead body, especially if the victim may once have told the Rabbi that he wished to be cremated upon his death?” she asked smugly, knowing how he would answer.

  “Well, maybe, I guess, but then there would have been no reason for a bullet hole in the head.” He answered just as she hoped he would.

  “No more questions, Your Honor,” she said.

  “All right,” said the judge, knowing there were more names on the witness list, but noticing that time was running out for the day, he declared, “We will adjourn today’s session and begin again promptly at 10:00 a.m. sharp tomorrow,” banging his gavel to end the day’s proceedings.

  Twenty-Eight

  The next morning in court, D.A. Stanford said, “The people call Rabbi Isaac to the stand.”

  Hearing this, the defendant looked apoplectic. He was completely surprised to see Rabbi Isaac walk into the courtroom, and some of the jury members noticed the defendant’s agitated expression as he watched Rabbi Isaac approach the witness chair.

  “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” asked the clerk. Rabbi Isaac so swore, though he was not required to place his hand on a non-Judaic Bible in doing so.

  The district attorney began by asking, “Rabbi Isaac, have you ever met a Richard Straub?”

  “Yes, I have.”

  “Would you please point him out to the jury.”

  Rabbi Isaac stared and pointed in the direction of the defendant. “That gentleman looks somewhat like Mr. Straub, only there are some differences.”

  “What differences are you referring to?”

  “This gentleman doesn’t have hair on top of his head and Mr. Straub did, and he has no goatee which Mr. Straub had. Mr. Straub also looked like a member of a Hell’s Angels-type group. When I first met him, he wasn’t wearing a suit and tie as he is today.”

  “Do you think that he would resemble Mr. Straub better had he not shaved the top
of his head and removed his goatee?”

  “Objection, leading question and lack of foundation,” exclaimed Jaxson. “The D.A. has not provided any evidence that my client has done any of the things she just alleged.”

  “Sustained. Rabbi Isaac, you are not to answer that question.”

  “Under what circumstances did you meet Mr. Straub?” she continued.

  “He called me within the first two months of this past year and asked if I could give him Hebrew lessons.”

  “Did he explain to you why a man in his forties wanted Hebrew lessons?”

  “Yes,” said Isaac. “He stated that he had been raised in numerous foster homes as a young boy and therefore never had the opportunity to have a bar mitzvah at the normal age of thirteen, as most Jewish boys do. He felt that this was something he should do to officially become a man within our faith. He wanted to be accepted as such now that he’s grown, and that’s why he wanted the lessons.”

  “And if you gave him these Hebrew lessons, how were they given and how long did they continue?”

  “Eight hours per week in two four-hour sessions, for a little over eight months.”

  “Did you find that he learned enough Hebrew to be bar mitzvahed?”

  “No, I did not.”

  “Why do you say that, Rabbi?”

  “Because we hadn’t even gotten to the bar mitzvah portions yet when he stopped his lessons. All I had been able to teach him up to that point was enough Hebrew for him to read from a Torah. He would not be able to pass a bar mitzvah from the lessons he had so far, but he decided to quit, and there was nothing else I could do.”

  “No further questions at this time, but the usual stipulation holds for his recall.”

  “Understood,” said the judge. “Does the defense have any questions for this witness?”

  “Just one at this time. Rabbi Isaac, why did you call the police about this Mr. Straub?” asked Jaxson.

  “Because we Rabbis from nearby communities know each other, and when I read about Rabbi Bloom’s arrest and recalled the slight resemblance Mr. Straub had to the Rabbi, I felt an obligation to inform the police.”