Grand jury indicts pair on threats to judge, ADA

First, I would like to state that loose fitting boxers have been a requirement of the LCDC for some time. Are you stating that the accused inmates were going to not only smuggle a handgun into the detention center, but a pair of briefs as well? Not to mention, how exactly would the inmates have gotten the weapon pass metal detectors at the courtroom? According to my knowledge, J. Tyrone Riordan was in solitary confinement up until several weeks ago; meaning that he did not have a cellmate nor was he allowed any time with other inmates in LCDC. With that being said, how do you suppose inmate Riordan conspired with his fellow accomplice, inmate Dixon, back in January? I am also aware that LCDC is being operated by a new company, Emerald Correctional Mgmt. I'm also curious as to whether the informant is another inmate? I assume an informant is like a mole, this person seeks out information that could possibly diminish or reduce their own charges. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so who's to say that this so called "informant" is telling the truth?
-concerned Kate

Kate, how do you look in orange? How long were you hooked up at LCDC?

Perhaps concerned Kate, with your knowledge on the subject, you can be of some help to either the defense or the prosecution.

Apparently the indictments were handed down without checking with you about what you knew about the cell mates, where Riordan was or was not and with whom. I'm not sure how that happened but there you have it.

and Kate, the inmates come in the back door in chains, directly from the jail with the jail guards -- not through the front doors through the detector with the rest of the "audience." Those chains would sure set off the detectors don't you think?

I believe the article only relates what has taken place and why, and has not taken the situation to "court" on the merits of the information. That's the DA's job.

Boy, sounds like Kate's boyfriend is in trouble. That defense was lame.
Here's one, he could say he was doing research for a book he is writing. Here's another one, he was concerned for the judges safety and was talking smack to his fellow inmates in an effort to ferret out any plots on her life so he could save her. My personal favorite would have to be that he had taken a combination of Ambien and jail house hooch (both of which were acquired along with briefs with a fishing line) and thought he was on his way to congress to vote instead of sitting in LCDC making threats, anyway, he doesn't remember a thing.

Kate wrote:

First, I would like to state that loose fitting boxers have been a requirement of the LCDC for some time. Are you stating that the accused inmates were going to not only smuggle a handgun into the detention center, but a pair of briefs as well? Not to mention, how exactly would the inmates have gotten the weapon pass metal detectors at the courtroom? According to my knowledge, J. Tyrone Riordan was in solitary confinement up until several weeks ago; meaning that he did not have a cellmate nor was he allowed any time with other inmates in LCDC. With that being said, how do you suppose inmate Riordan conspired with his fellow accomplice, inmate Dixon, back in January? I am also aware that LCDC is being operated by a new company, Emerald Correctional Mgmt. I'm also curious as to whether the informant is another inmate? I assume an informant is like a mole, this person seeks out information that could possibly diminish or reduce their own charges. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so who's to say that this so called "informant" is telling the truth?
-concerned Kate

Kate, where do you get your "knowledge"? Are you dating this orange wearing chain puller? You talk like these crooks could not pull this off. A few months ago they tried to burn the joint down...Oh that must have been a mistake also they are not allowed to have matches. Kate, you liberal sounding sot, they are CROOKS, they are there because they do not obey the rules. What do you think this guy is in the lock up for in the first place - murder - so this is hard for you to get your soft brain around?

Here are my problems with this thing. First I am wondering by what measure Mr. Riordan was adjudged a career criminal. Yes there are some serious allegations pending against him, but I am unable to find in the court docket any convictions for a felony yet. In fact the most striking thing here is the fact that the time that this allegedly occurred and seperately the time 3 months later the case was filed correspond to serious and significant events in his murder trial requiring the state to ask for extensions to the rule. Is there a problem with that case?

Now the co-defendant, Dixon, is scheduled for 1 trial and two sentencings in August including adjudication as a habitual offender. Keep an eye on those dates. I wonder if he will be testifying against Riordan. Of course there is also the fact that another case for Dixon is now scheduled for a change of plea to not guilty on the same day as his other sentencings.

Seems like a lot of gaps to be jumping to conclusions just because Scot Key was able to get a Grand Jury to indict based on his side of the story. Why is it that when an obviously corrupt DA, on his way out after dropping out of the campaign due to lack of support, is now to be taken at face value because the accusation angers you. Did you get this way towards Haskins and Bird when Key tried to indict them?

It is something to think about, and I will.

Main difference between this case and the Bird/Haskins case for me is that I have perceived Mr. Key as soft on drug cases in any form and hostile to real law enforcement. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Speaking of Mr. Key and his buddies, where is Dean Shelby these days?

That depends on the age of the sighting and the credibility of the source. The nightcrawler is a mysterious creature.

I mean doesn't this strike anyone as a little Batman or McGyver? Is the fence so ridiculously close to the building that a rubber band contraption through a hole in the obviously paper thin lexan window is going to propel an awful lot of twisted used filament through the signature winds over the fence that is topped with what, a teflon bearing? Then the henchman from the outside that has managed to simply walk up on the what?, unlit perimeter, undetected, ties on some drawers and a heater and tosses the bundle over so as to not get the filament tangled in the low security fence topper which would then be reeled in, smuggled to court and used to off the Chief Deputy DA and the District Judge.

Before we swallow all of this look at the charges that are not there. The ones about the attempt to smuggle weapons in, the perfunctory attempted escape since trying to get a gun would more likely be an escape plan than a revenge one. Instead just a convenient plot to off the DA and Judge. Let's wait until they establish the one that cut that polycarbonate before taking it hook, line and sinker. That is all I ask.

If this plot is for real this DA is making their insanity defense on all counts pending, credible.

Are you saying that this is possibly a B.S. case to make a lame duck D.A. look like he is going out on a high note?

This is the same guy that let the robbers keep the money from the outpost and drive out of town with no charges.

No, I think this case sounds a bit fishy. If Dixon who, without the intervention of the DA will die in prison, testifies to such a plot his testimony has no reason to be true. Allow him to testify after being sentenced on Aug 7 and after the time for the judge to go back and cut his sentence then he may have some credibility.

The whole thing sounds like some dayroom foolery and venting that unfolded into a conspiracy for some purpose. That purpose is the location of the story.

Day room foolery.... blah, blah, I should off my old lady, Let's rob a stage coach when we get out, blah, blah, that judge is a b****, let's get that allsups clerk for not selling us beer before noon on Sunday, blah, blah, my cousin that shorted me a dime bag, blah,..... Like that?

In one context yes. Read from the testimony of Capone doing an Eddie Haskel it can appear differently. Does anyone remember the deadly weapon acquittal of Robert L. Jessie?

Or the informant could be one who did try to help smuggle something more valuable in via this eight way bank shot of a plan here and needed a mulligan.

Who knows? The one thing I do know is that the finest sport fishing anywhere is in the pond of psychopathy at the 12th District Attorney's office under Scot Key. Even if it is not the species you sought just taking the time to look at this community theater wannabe facade and cast a line, no hook, no problem, they bite - you will catch something amusing at least, shocking at worst, but never a dull moment. Yeah, it was an excited run-on thought too. I am getting writer's gout from the mere thought of getting another shot at the justice's arch enemy. Would anyone like to take the first guess in the "Who screwed up and made all this chicanery necessary?" Contest?

Come on now. How can you not find humor in an operation that even when it hits the right result more often than not they have taken the wrong route to get there?

That should have read "river of psychopathy" or "ocean of psychopathy". Your choice.

I have sat on two juries in this county. I don't want to seem mean but it was embarrassing. Not just for the prosecution but also the defense. Tim Rose is the only defense attorney I have seen in action that is sharp and smart. I want to root for the prosecution but they always make me wonder if that is where the private practice washouts go. I think if someone could build that office with people who have a passion for right fighting instead of people proving that public servant is akin to public toilet, they would have a better conviction record. Scot Key has accused both Otero County and Lincoln County juries of being the problem instead of his office being the problem.

Those who know me may remember that it was just this contempt for particularly Lincoln County juries displayed in a "Guest Commentary" in the RN that began my quest to get answers to the questions people are asking. Well, we try to find something comical at each astonishing answer in order to bear it another day.

While the causes may be in dispute there is little dispute that in the governments within this juducial district and really most of the state rules and laws are of little meaning. The result is pick and choose law enforcers removing any pretense of justice from the hearts and minds of the people. How do we proceed from there?

You do your beat to wake up the voters and disrupt the Republican machine. Republicans don't like the Democratic machine in the northern part of the state or Chicago, etc. yet they continue to support underachieving back room deal cutting candidates of their own simply because those candidates wear a label that identifies them as part of their club.

Michael Morris wrote:

While the causes may be in dispute there is little dispute that in the governments within this juducial district and really most of the state rules and laws are of little meaning. The result is pick and choose law enforcers removing any pretense of justice from the hearts and minds of the people. How do we proceed from there?

Morris may be right. Just reading this sounds like another case that was poorly investigated by the Sheriff and will be poor prosecuted by the DA. I wouldn't worry to much boys, they always seem to be able pull defeat from the jaws of victory.

Of course Key has a tremendous conflict in that Roxanne is Chief Deputy which is the most political appointment in the office. This position does not reflect her skill as a prosecutor - obviously, but rather her ability to play for the team. When viewed in its totality this case makes no sense unless extortion on the murder case is the motive one was following.

Over and over again we have seen something other than justice as the motivating factor in this office. Situated as this is right in the middle of a speedy trial abortion with the DA unable to bring the case to trial in anything resembling a reasonable time there is no reason to think this is not just another cooked up deal that will set a violent career criminal on the street in exchange for some leverage where skill and evidence have failed them.

Katie bar the door wrote:

I have sat on two juries in this county. I don't want to seem mean but it was embarrassing. Not just for the prosecution but also the defense. Tim Rose is the only defense attorney I have seen in action that is sharp and smart. I want to root for the prosecution but they always make me wonder if that is where the private practice washouts go. I think if someone could build that office with people who have a passion for right fighting instead of people proving that public servant is akin to public toilet, they would have a better conviction record. Scot Key has accused both Otero County and Lincoln County juries of being the problem instead of his office being the problem.

These statements alone should bar you from any further jury duty, Ms. Bar The Door. "Root for the prosecution"? You know, part of being a responsible jury member is being a fair, rational and impartial peer, not an advocate for one side before the facts are heard.

I said I wanted to root for the prosecution. Wanting to and doing so are two different things. I received jury instructions and followed them and the prosecution lost. Saying that you go into a jury situation with absolutely no preconceived ideas or predigest is as best hopeful. Doing the job you are handed with the instructions given you is your job. Being honest enough to be honest is the job of a juror. I'm sure you are as pure of thought as you say so you would be a great guy to have on their as a permanent juror. During jury selection the judge asks jurors questions. If it seems like there could be issues, the jurors are asked if they could lend an impartial verdict anyway. Many say that they can and are then seated on the jury. This is an acknowledgment that people with life experience who are honest enough to admit it, are probably honest enough to be just.