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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 19, 2005 Murder-for-hire case gets Grants Pass man another trial By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Acquitted of two counts and garnering a hung jury on four other charges in his October murder-for-hire trial, Jack Lee Harelson is again set to face a jury. Prosecutors will try a second time to convince jurors that the Grants Pass resident tried to hire out the murders of an Oregon State Police investigator and a former business partner in late 2002. The retrial is scheduled to open with jury selection today in Jackson County Circuit Court. The investigator, OSP Lt. Walt Markee, was a chief witness in a 1996 trial that ended in Harelson’s conviction for looting American Indian graves in Nevada. The business partner, Lloyd Olds, told detectives tales of Harelson’s pot hunting. Advertisement An undercover informant working for police orchestrated the alleged murder plot for Harelson, clinching the deal with black opals and presenting Harelson with a faked photo of Olds’ death scene. Claiming a defense of police entrapment, Harelson, 64, told jurors that his numerous mentions of "taking out" foes were just a joke. Jurors acquitted Harelson of charges that he solicited the murders of Loyd O’Neal, the Josephine County judge who presided over his 1996 trial, and Richard Ledger, another former business partner who died of cancer before Harelson’s January 2003 arrest. The jury could not reach a consensus on the charges pertaining to Markee and Olds. Jurors who spoke to the Mail Tribune following Harelson’s October trial said they believed the informant, Brian Doland, enticed Harelson to hire the four murders. Doland was neither a likable nor credible witness, said juror Tim Heim of Medford. The prosecution also failed to provide jurors with any evidence — other than Doland’s testimony — of Harelson’s reaction to the staged photo of Olds’ murder. Police said the tape recorder that had captured hours of conversation between Harelson and Doland inexplicably failed at the critical moment. Jurors cited the missing tape as a critical factor in their decision. Prosecutor Tim Barnack maintains that Doland is credible because jurors convicted Harelson of selling two firearms to the informant. Barnack said he planned to spend more time with jurors explaining the law regarding solicitation for murder. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Tatoos Advertisement s