Document text
A hearing on a Josephine County double-murder case on Wednesday focused not on the suspect himself, but rather the lead investigator in the case, who is now facing theft charges in Jackson County. The defense team for Gary Goins, the man accused of murdering his brother and sister-in-law at their home near Hugo three years ago, took aim squarely at former sheriff's deputy Josh White, who has been charged with three counts of first-degree theft and two counts of second-degree theft. Goins' defense team says the charges stemmed from the theft of Sheriff's Office property. The prosecutor in the White case, Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Virginia Greer, declined to discuss details in the case because it is still pending. White's trial is scheduled for Feb. 11 in Jackson County Circuit Court in Medford. Defense attorneys Bronson James and Steve Lindsey painted White as a hothead who has demonstrated a "bizarre frame of mind," citing an incident in which they claim White told Josephine County Jail inmates during his time as a jail deputy that government conspirators had placed nanobots in the inmates' water that would turn them into "flesh-eating zombies." The District Attorney's Office got a letter from an inmate afterward. The defense also stated that White's former partner at the Drug Enforcement Agency, where he used to work, filed a protective stalking order against him after a dispute stemming from a conversation at a 2010 Christmas party. The attorneys, who had three cardboard boxes that they said contained about 1,000 pages of documents related to White, argued that White's conduct undermines his credibility as lead investigator and puts the prosecution on shaky ground. They cited the case of David "Joey" Pedersen, who faced murder and other charges in federal court for a 2011 crime spree in the Pacific Northwest that left four dead. Prosecutors ultimately decided not to seek the death penalty for Pedersen and his girlfriend. Afterward, U.S. District Judge Ancer Haggerty, who presided in the case, publicly criticized Oregon State Police and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their handling of the investigation and the evidence — particularly OSP's lead investigator. Goins, 61, who is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and one count of robbery, could face the death penalty if convicted of those crimes. The defense attorneys also said they should have received more information about White's background from prosecutors. They invoked the Brady rule, stemming from the 1963 Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland and subsequent rulings, which requires prosecutors to disclose to the defense any information in their possession that is favorable to the defendant. Prosecutor Lisa Turner asserted the defense attorneys are on a "fishing expedition" and that White's conduct as described by them is not relevant to the Goins case because it occurred separately from the investigation and White is "not a witness" in the case. "They've painted a very unlikable picture of Josh White. But that's not Brady," Turner said. James countered that White already testified in a three-day hearing on the case last year, saying the transcript of that testimony was 250 pages long. "Josh White has already been a witness in this case. He is a witness in this case," James said. The double murder was discovered on Oct. 24, 2011. The victims, Dennis Goins, 63, and Susan Goins, 53, were found fatally shot after Susan Goins failed to show up for work. Investigators believe the killings may have happened several days earlier, and were looking into reports that Gary Goins had threatened the couple previously over an inheritance dispute. In court on Wednesday, Josephine County Circuit Judge Lindi Baker turned down a separate motion by the defense to limit the number of photographs the prosecution would be allowed to present at trial. Goins, who was not handcuffed, fidgeted in his plastic chair in the jail courtroom during the hearing, leaning over repeatedly to whisper to the defense team. The hearing, which is continuing today, focused on a flurry of motions in the case, including a defense motion to gain access to the police reports behind the Jackson County charges against White, as well as documents related to several internal affairs investigations into his conduct. Goins' trial is scheduled for April. Reach Grants Pass Daily Courier reporter Melissa McRobbie at 541-474-3806 or [email protected]