Stoppy's statement, in addition to a quote from the Missouri Attorney General's office.
Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Lynn Stoppy released a statement early Friday that announced the case was dismissed.
“Very recently, our understanding of evidence previously obtained from a critical witness has changed,” Stoppy said in the release. “As a result, the state is currently left without sufficient evidence to support the prosecution at this time.”
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which has worked on the case since late June at Stoppy’s request, also released a statement about the case.
“Since being appointed to assist with the case approximately four weeks ago, we have carefully examined the evidence as it has developed,” the statement reads. “The prosecution does not currently have sufficient evidence to proceed with the case. First degree murder is the most serious offense that the State can charge. We have an ethical obligation to dismiss a case once it becomes clear that the evidence presently available to the prosecution is not sufficient to proceed.”
(Quotes courtesy of digitalburg.com)Seems like most of the fingers are being pointed at Lynn Stoppy and even President Obama, who was in Warrensburg last week to give a speech on the economy. I've already covered the ridiculous rumor about President Obama, and as predicted, he wasn't in town long enough to take his 25 car motorcade to the Johnson County jail to "free Abid". As if he would want to anyway.
Obviously, there's no evidence to support any Obama linkage to the case. (Well there wouldn't be, would there?!) But let me just say that if Obama had anything to do with this, it would be political suicide. And is it not even considered that no one would immediately report Obama's involvement, with proof? There's a lot of money to be made for someone who can prove that the President of the United States is interfering with a court case. Politics 101/CJ 101 states that you have to let the system take its course. Presidential pardons come AFTER a guilty verdict.
Unfortunately, this case has been wrought with difficulty from the get go. First, it was the back and forth battle about Abid's bail. According to the Missouri state constitution, Abid had every right, as a man who committed a crime in the state of Missouri, to be treated fairly and receive his bond at a reasonable amount. Of course, with his specific (and sometimes uncertain) financial circumstances, the bond tug-of-war drug on for months, from the original order of no bond to be posted, to allowing a $2 million bond with certain conditions, and then when it was posted by the Saudi government on Abid's behalf in June, the denial of bail by the judge.
Now, the evidence aspect: Stoppy is quoted saying that the evidence from a "critical witness" has changed. One can only assume that the critical witness is Reginald Singletary, and for one reason or another, he has decided not to testify. While the prosecutor has remained tight-lipped about what evidence they had against Abid, it seemed that it hinged on one very important piece: Singletary's confession that Abid hired him to kill Blaine for money. Since no other details are available, we must assume the following:
1) There is no money trail between Ziyad & Reginald.
Abid is from Saudi Arabia, and while he may have access to local banks and financial institutions, he would not be able to go into any bank and withdraw a large sum of money (It is assumed the large sum of money would convince Singletary it was worth killing another person over) Of course, he would wire it- but a large wire transfer would have alerted authorities and given them a paper trail between Abid and Singletary.
2) There are probably no incriminating texts or suspicious phone calls between the suspects.
Abid and Singletary were roommates, so they probably spent a lot of time talking about this event in person. This may have been on purpose, a strategic move by Abid to not incriminate himself. It could have also been just dumb luck. Either way, with a court order, some texts/calls could be retrieved. However, it could be considered circumstantial evidence.
3) Reginald Singletary confessed and implicated Ziyad Abid on September 4, 2012.
It has been widely publicized through the Sherrif's department that Singletary confessed. In this confession he implicated Abid. Okay. So either Singletary is telling the truth, and attempting to say, "I did it, but he made me", OR, he's lying. Of course, no one wants to believe that Abid is innocent. It's not the way to go. And hey, he probably isn't. But fortunately for Abid, Singletary isn't speaking now. And all fingers are pointing to Singletary. He confessed; he, by all accounts, pulled the trigger. There's no money trail because money didn't exchange hands. That evening, Abid was downtown and even spent time with Blaine's friends after they heard he was killed. Singletary wasn't around.
4) The Unknown.
How did the authorities know to question/arrest Singletary and Abid mere days after the murder? Some of Blaine's employees had spoken to the police and expressed their concerns about the two suspects, so this may have been part of it. Where's the murder weapon? It hasn't been discussed or revealed about the gun that killed Blaine.
So, this case, stripped down, is not much against Abid and a lot against Singletary. And that is precisely why the Missouri Attorney General, and the Johnson County Prosecutor, Lynn Stoppy, felt it was best to drop it. They know that Singletary will be found guilty. They atleast have that. And this sucks, for everyone involved, but it is perfectly and completely legal.
One last, final note on the Obama situation. Obama was here for all of 2 hours. He flew in on Air Force One and immediately proceeded to the University of Central Missouri around 4:45. Around 6:00 pm, there was a live feed of him returning to Whiteman and boarding Air Force One. There wasn't any time for him to poke his nose in this case, not that he would even want to (or care to!). But that's okay. If it helps you sleep at night, enjoy your theories, minions.
-Central Missouri Sleuth
I think it bears addressing that the Obama administration thinks NOTHING of interfering in a case. DOJ sent its Community Relations Team to interfere in the Trayvon Martin trial, even to the extent of paying to bus people to rallies.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I agree it's unlikely Obama personally intervened WHILE HE WAS HERE. But with absolutely no evidence to even entertain this suggestion, isn't it even remotely possible that the federal government intervened to save some high value Saudi National? Obama is willing to kill the entire XL pipeline because al-Waleed doesn't like competition and we need investment from his sovereign wealth fund.
As a further unfounded suggestion, holding someone for 11 months would be extremely unlikely on the word of a confessed killer... barring some kind of other evidence. Stoppy's press release was rather vague as to the nature of the change in their understanding of the evidence/testimony. And it doesn't appear anyone in media had the sense to ask HOW THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF EVIDENCE/TESTIMONY CHANGED. Did they just fail to properly define a word? Geez.
I completely agree that there are serious holes in the story, especially with Stoppy's release. I'd love to see some supporting evidence of a Community Relations team dealing with the Trayvon Martin case, so please provide that if you have it. But nevertheless, this is more about THIS case and not Obama. By all accounts, Obama has nothing to do with this. If he did, I think someone would have already leaked, or spilled the beans.
ReplyDeleteAs for "high value", Ziyad spent a lot of time prior to the arrest claiming to be a "prince" which was quickly debunked when he was arrested. However, Heiss called ICE and had his visa revoked right away, saying that his investigation showed that they were "a very wealthy family" and money was no object... Fast forward a few months later and Abid is saying he can't put up his bail, even the $200k would bankrupt his family.
So someone either didn't do their research, or someone's lying. No, I dont think Obama considers Abid a "high value Saudi". :)
You didn't see the money behind Peters and his efforts? Not a prince, but is his mother not blood related to the extended family of the Saudi royals? Can you say that the sheriff's dept was wrong about the extensive financial resources? Listen, we all now live with a reality that has been there for decades, Saudi nationals can come here as our guests, commit atrocious crimes, and then buy themselves a free pass out if trouble. believe it. Web search it. See for yourself how many times that very thing has happened this year. Abid is a weak egoic lil man who in of himself is of little consequence, but the fact that he walks away smiling is due to Saudi financial resources, and unfortunately that door remains open for other Saudi nationals to commit crimes, I say if you are a foreign national and you are indicted with a felony, then their immigration status is illegal, and therefore are not guaranteed bond, given there are sufficient resources to flee prosecution. If our elected officials or law enforcement failed us in making the case, so be it, but his prosecution was just, his being held without bond was just. More than that its a necessary policy to avoid a horrible consequence. If I have to spell out that consequence, then my words are wasted on those who lack the ability to see the bigger picture. One our president, up to this point, seems oblivious to, that is, in my reckoning, the unspoken issue here. Your efforts to bring truth and sanity to the conversation are duly noted and appreciated but what are the deeper issues? And are we as citizens going to have the sense and courage to address it? They are our elected and paid officials will we hold them accountable? Will this happen again? And if so, who, if anyone, will be held accountable. This struck a chord deep within the hearts of many, many people. The truth of this crime has been obscured, distorted and hijacked by many different parties for many different reasons because that chord was struck. Can we clear our heads long enough to see what is really at stake, or will our fears and outrage blind us to what has really happened here.
ReplyDelete