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| M/Sgt. C.J. Grisham placed under arrest by Officer Steve Ermis |
Belton
– In a complete reversal of what officials told the public
following the sensational mistrial of M/Sgt. C.J. Grisham for the
misdemeanor offense of interfering with a public official, Bell
County Attorney Jim Nichols set the record straight in a courthouse
interview with a citizen who wanted to confirm the truth.
Officials
there required the man to file a written request for information to
confirm the previously published date and venue of the trial
following a 4-day mistrial that included two full days of jury
deliberation which resulted in a hopeless jury deadlock.
But,
according to what Mr. Nichols said, a juror named L.J. Cotterill
misinformed the public when he said in a post-trial interview that
five held out for acquittal, while only one juror voted to convict.
Mr. Cotterill could not be reached for comment.
Mr.
Cotterill said the panel could not agree on how to apply the legal
definition of criminal negligence to the evidence and testimony
presented in the case which prosecutors sought to prove regarding
allegations that M/Sgt. C.J. Grisham interfered with Temple Police
Officer Steve Ermis when he sought to disarm him during an arrest
that took place on March 16.
He
and his son were walking along a rural road near farm property
members of his extended family own near the Temple airport after a
woman phoned the police to report she was alarmed by the “odd”
appearance of a man carrying a long black rifle in public.
A
Dashcam video made by the equipment in Officer Ermis' patrol car
clearly showed him pointing the muzzle of his semiautomatic pistol
into the back of Sgt. Grisham's neck, grasping his rifle by the
sling, and bending him over the hood of the police car before he
jabbed the muzzle into his ribs and confiscated the weapon.
Ermis
testified that Grisham waved his hands rather than placing them
behind his back as ordered, and his voluble remarks questioning what
law did he break constituted interference with a public official
while in the performance of his appointed duties.
There
is no law against carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun in public in
Texas.
According
to Mr. Gates, “He (Nichols) said, 'We talked to the jury after the
trial, and it was 5 guilty and one not guilty.'”
Mr.
Nichols confirmed that C.J. Grisham will be retried on November 18.
Reached
for comment, Sgt. Grisham said, “At one point, it was 4 to 2 in my
favor. Then the judge told them that it not a case of self defense,
or that they could not consider self defense as a factor. So they
completely split and went to 4 to convict...It was such a big swing
that we thought it was a mistake.”
Once
the defense team and he arrived for a guest speaker appearance in San
Antonio for the “Line in the Sand” rally at the Alamo, they got a
new perspective when they learned something brand new, at least to
them.
“We
didn't know until Saturday that it was five to convict and one to
acquit.”
“After
he (visiting Judge Neel Richardson) declared a mistrial, he said 'I'm
looking at mid-November,' and they set the new trial for then.”
Reached
for comment, defense attorney Blue Rannefeld said any pleadings or
motions filed in the interim may affect the ultimate schedule of the
new trial.
He
intends to file a motion for a change of venue, but is not sure what
new location the administrative judge for the area will select. Costs
for the new trial will be borne by the taxpayers of Bell County. If
the County Attorney's office chooses to drop the case at any time
during the next two years, prosecutors could subsequently re-file the
case before the statute of limitations expires in the year 2015.
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