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Trial opens in case of two home invasions in '98 in Central Point By CHRIS BRISTOL A man and woman went on trial Tuesday for the violent home-invasion robberies of two homes in the Central Point area last year. The defendants -- David McDonald Heath, 42, and Neva Lynn Honeycutt, also 41 -- face lengthy prison sentences if convicted. They were captured last summer in the New Mexico town of Truth or Consequences. The jury trial is expected to last three days. Jackson County Judge Dan Harris is presiding. The defendants are accused of two robberies: one May 13 on Maple Street, followed by one June 10 on rural Lane Creek Road. In his opening statement, prosecutor John Bondurant said the defendants forced their way into the Maple Street home and robbed a guest of $70. During that incident, a shot was fired into the floor. He told the jury that one of the victims from the Maple Street incident knew Heath only as "Mac," whom she had apparently met briefly at a garage sale in Applegate several months earlier. The attack apparently stemmed from a dispute -- real, imagined or contrived -- over debt from some property bought at the garage sale. The second incident was far more serious, involving the beating of an elderly man in his travel trailer and the theft of up to $12,000 in cash. Despite the promise of strong circumstantial evidence, defense attorneys Robert Abel and Lorenzo Mejia urged the jury to make the state prove its case. Abel, who is representing Heath, dismissed the robbery premise as "one huge assumption" and implied that witnesses would have trouble identifying his client. "Pay special attention to the identification issue," he said. Mejia argued that his client, Honeycutt, was neither the instigator nor the aggressor in either attack. After opening statements, the jury heard testimony from the victims of the Maple Street attack. Kathy Difilippino told the jury she was getting ready for a shower on the morning of May 13 when she heard a gunshot-like "bang" and was soon confronted by a woman with a rifle. She said a bearded man was pushing around houseguest Chris Wilkes. Her 18-month-old daughter was also there. "He's yelling, `Where's my money? Where's my $140?"' she testified, referring to the assailant. "He was just raving." Difilippino said she repeatedly told the man she had no money and begged Wilkes to hand over any cash he had. She said the man struck her twice in the face. Wilkes, 21, told the jury he was washing dishes when a bearded stranger burst in the front door and grabbed him by the throat. The man was followed by a woman with a rifle, who fired off a round into the floor. The man then demanded money from Wilkes, who forked over $70 from his wallet. "On his way out, he said, `If you call the cops, we'll have someone come over and kill you,"' Wilkes testified. In court, both witnesses re-identified Honeycutt and Heath from photo lineups provided by police, and both pointed to Honeycutt as the female assailant. They were unable to identify Heath in court, however. He is now clean-shaven. The defendants were arrested July 1 in New Mexico after Honeycutt went to the local police station and complained that Heath had menaced her with a pickax. A records checks revealed the pair was wanted by Oregon authorities, and Heath was captured without incident at a local motel. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA