Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: The Graham County Superior Court will decide if evidence in the Campos trail was tainted.
By Jon Johnson
jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com
SAFFORD – The Graham County Superior Court has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for July 24 to determine if evidence in the Thatcher shooting case against Manuel Campos was tainted after allegedly being mishandled by Graham County Superior Court Clerk Cindy Woodman.
Prosecutors allege Campos broke into a Thatcher residence Jan. 31 and demanded money from the resident while brandishing a shotgun. When the victim responded that she didn’t have any money, Campos allegedly fired a shot into the floor next to the victim’s leg and reportedly told her, “the next one is for you (expletive deleted)” and then ran out the back door.
Campos was later found hiding from police underneath a jacuzzi lid in a resident’s backyard on Spencer Lane, and the shotgun was recovered from a bush next to the Newman Catholic Center at 3592 W. Fourth St. and a shoe print the prosecution said matches shoes Campos was wearing when apprehended was found next to the shotgun. DNA testing also showed Campos’ DNA on the shotgun shell loaded in the weapon.
The issue regarding the mishandling of the evidence was discussed during a hearing Tuesday, which led to the scheduling of the evidentiary hearing later this month. Woodman reportedly had the Thatcher Police Department take possession of evidence that was admitted in Campos’ first trial that ended in a guilty verdict of possession of a deadly weapon. The evidence was reportedly signed out by the Thatcher Police Department and kept in its possession until returned to the court.
At the heart of the issue is that once evidence is admitted at a trial, it is required to be kept by the court clerk unless it is released from evidence. Campos’ trial had to be bifurcated into two trials, the first of which took a jury less than an hour to decide Campos’ guilt on misconduct involving weapons for possession of a deadly weapon (shotgun) while being a prohibited possessor. Evidence, including the shotgun, was admitted in Campos’ initial trial on the misconduct involving weapons charge.
The evidence should have been kept with the court to be used in the second trial, which covers charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, two counts of robbery, two counts of burglary, and disorderly conduct with a deadly weapon. That trial is scheduled to be held Sept. 11 – 20.
During the evidentiary hearing July 24, Woodman is expected to testify as well as a representative from the Thatcher Police Department. With defense attorney Daisy Flores already questioning the validity of the Thatcher Police Department’s investigation, she and her co-counsel, Dennis McCarthy, could possibly argue that the mishandling of the evidence should cause the evidence to be thrown out entirely. Cochise County Deputy County Attorney Daniel Akers is prosecuting the case and could likely argue that since the chain of custody of the evidence was signed for and kept by either the police or the court that is was a simple mistake made by the new clerk who was unfamiliar with the regulations and no real damage was done. Even if Graham County Superior Court Judge Michael D. Peterson deems that the chain of custody of the evidence was secure, the issue could also come up on an appeal.
In addition to the Thatcher shooting case, Campos is also facing a trial regarding the December 2017 shooting of Gary Don Hess. In that case, Campos is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault resulting in disfigurement, two counts of assault, discharging a firearm at a residence, three counts of disorderly conduct with a deadly weapon, three counts of endangerment, and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited possessor.
