sheri lara sharpe biloxi
201(c)(2) creates criminal penalties for bribing witnesses, and defines bribery as [d]irectly or indirectly, giv[ing], offer [ing], or promis[ing] anything of value to any person, for or because of the testimony under oath given or to be given as a witness upon a trial The defendants note that the government has given Gillich and Wright something of value, namely freedom, because of their testimony against the defendants in this trial. Holcomb was charged with conspiracy to violate the racketeering statute and conspiracy to obstruct justice, but not for murder. This Circuit has established a two-part test to determine when a deliberate ignorance instruction is warranted. Mr. Fabian said that when members demanded an explanation from Mayor Halat, he told them the money had been taken by his law partner at the time, Mr. Sherry, who became a judge shortly afterward, in July 1986. One of them still lives on the Coast, and her name may sound familiar: Heather Eason. John Elbert Ransom, a Nix associate from Georgia, was released from a federal prison in Georgia on Nov. 7, 2003. 2D1.1 provides that the base level is the greater of 19 or the offense level applicable to the underlying racketeering activity. Here, the underlying activity involved violations of Mississippi murder statutes, and the district court properly analogized this offense to the federal first degree murder offense during sentencing. See id. Nix acquired hundreds of thousands of dollars from this scam. Contact us. The prisoners would place personal ads in The Advocate, the national homosexual news magazine, Mr. Fabian said, and use various ploys to get money from the men who responded. See id. See Id. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. When she was eligible for release, shed have to spend three years on probation. WebSheri LaRa Sharpe Sheri LaRa Sharpe News Figure in 1987 Dixie Mafia slaying of 2 dies at 82 May 10, 2012Monica Land0 BILOXI (AP) Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease Shari Sharpe - Lake Havasu City, AZ Real Estate Agent | realtor.com 97-60704 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, VERSUS SHERI LARA SHARPE; THOMAS LESLIE HOLCOMB; PETER HALAT, JR.; AND KIRKSEY MCCORD NIX, JR. also known as J R, also known as Junior, also known as Kirk, Defendants-Appellants. Holcomb threatened Swetman to keep him from cooperating with the government. She was a Biloxi city councilwoman from 1981 to 1985, and she ran for mayor as a Republican in 1985 but lost to incumbent Gerald Blessey. Halat moved to dismiss the indictment before trial on the grounds that it was duplicitous, but did not request a unanimity instruction or object when the district court did not give one. At the first trial, Gillich insisted that Halat had nothing to do with the homosexual scam or the murders. The government proved and the district court actually instructed the jury that the issue was not whether the particular responses, considered individually and out of context, were made intentionally with knowledge of falsity, but rather, whether Halat's responses were made as part of an endeavor to impede and block the flow of truthful information, in other words, a single continuous scheme. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. However, Fletcher is inapplicable because it involved the issue of a photographic line up prepared by police. Nix and his prison syndicate placed ads in gay-focused magazines. 404(b). He knew him well after investigating the Dixie Mafia for so long. His funeral service will be private, said funeral director Whitney Lang. WebSharpe, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit In 1991, a jury convicted Nix, Halat, Gillich, Sheri LaRa Sharpe, and John Ransom of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and it found Nix and Gillich guilty of travel in aid of murder-for-hire. In this criminal appeal, we examine once again the sordid tale of Kirksey McCord Nix's (Nix) prison-based criminal empire and the related murders of Vincent and Margaret Sherry. Halat: I came to find out that there was activity going on at Angola prison that Kirksey Nix was alleged to be involved in. Question: As of that date or as of the time you received the information from the F.B.I., whatever date that was prior to May 13th, 1988, what knowledge did you have of your office being used, as a depositor of scam funds? Men would reply to the P.O. 8. After graduating from Western Kentucky State College, she taught in school. That one was closed out and another opened. United States v. Posada-Rios, 158 F.3d 832, 857 (5th Cir.1998). For Gilmer, its not about blaming her mother. We review admission and exclusion of evidence for abuse of discretion. The authorities said that in some cases the inmates would lure their correspondents into writing compromising letters and sending their own photos. Gillich insisted that Ransom was involved in the planning of the murders, but did not actually kill the Sherrys. Nix planned to pay for a pardon, either from the parole board or from then-Gov. He was an artist; he would paint pictures of us and for us, and he would make things. The hit was pulled off by a group of criminals known as the Dixie Mafia over a Lonely Hearts scam run out of Angola prison in Louisiana to swindle gay men. First, Holcomb agreed with the objective by killing Vincent Sherry. Additionally, the circumstances involved in Count 16 satisfy many of the criteria specified above. [4] Alternatively, Sharpe challenges the sufficiency of the evidence of her specific intent to impede the administration of justice. Thus, Holcomb has not shown that he was prejudiced by the exclusion of the reports themselves. He had been arrested numerous times since the 1970s for burglary, assault, rape and bootlegging. All four were indicted with conspiracy murder and wire fraud. Second, Holcomb contends that the district court erred by refusing to admit letters of recommendation written by the Government on behalf of Bill Rhodes (Rhodes). Bradford O'Keefe The elements of murder to hire are: (1) traveling or causing another to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or using or causing another to use the mail or other facility of interstate or foreign commerce; (2) with intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of any State or the United States; and (3) as consideration for the receipt of pecuniary value. Mr. Gillich was charged with conspiring to sell marijuana and faces trial on that charge March 9. Prosecutors say a Dixie Mafia boss in a Louisiana prison, helped by cohorts on the outside, ran an extortion ring preying on homosexuals, an operation that led to murder when a half million dollars of illicit profit disappeared and the judge was falsely accused of taking it. Then they called the respondents and had them wire funds, either through Western Union or by wire transfer. Gillich, 61, is the well-connected owner of striptease joints on the Gulf Coast and a longtime friend of Halats. I think a lot of times we think that things are unachievable. Biloxi put these odds against us, and we beat them.. Im finding in my research that it does bring back certain things, Eason said. [W]e defined the statutory term administration of justice as the performance of acts required by law in the discharge of duties such as appearing as a witness and giving truthful testimony when subpoenaed. The perjurious witness can bring about a miscarriage of justice by imperiling the innocent or delaying the punishment of the guilty. United States v. Griffin, 589 F.2d 200, 203 n. 4, 204 (5th Cir.1979). 1503 (obstruction of justice), 18 U.S.C. The purposes of the enterprise included enriching the members and associates of the enterprise and generating funds for procuring Nix's release from prison. Nix is currently incarcerated in the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma. 1999) October 20, 1999 She claimed to have fallen in love with him at the age of 10 when he visited her mothers bordello. 1377. See also United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688, 697, 113 S.Ct. She wants others to be inspired by her journey. It took thorough investigative work and Mike Gillich Jr. telling all to take Halat down. at 688, 113 S.Ct. When he was eligible for release, hed also have to spend three years on probation. United States v. Blackburn, 9 F.3d 353, 357 (5th Cir.1993). HATTIESBURG, Miss. We need not address this argument because Halat waived his right to appeal his sentence in exchange for the government's agreement not to appeal a sentence imposed below the guideline range. Both RICO Counts included Racketeering Acts A (conspiracy to commit murder and murder) and B (murder) in violation of the laws of Mississippi. See 18 U.S.C.A. This argument is foreclosed by our authority that Section 201(c)(2) does not apply to government plea bargains in exchange for testimony. She worked out of Halat's office and along with Halat rented a safety deposit box in which they kept cash generated by Nix's operations. Anyone can read what you share. box provided in the ad, then the scammers would start one of their many ploys to get money out of the gay men. On Sept. 14, 1987, Vincent and Margaret Sherry were shot point blank multiple times in the head by a hit-man in their North Biloxi home. Third, Holcomb argues the district court erred by refusing to admit exculpatory FBI lab reports relating to hair, fiber, blood, and print analysis done by FBI lab examiners. In the end, the government granted Wright full immunity for his testimony. The grand jury agreed, and in May 1991, Nix, Gillich, Ransom and Sharpe were all indicted on 15 collective counts. In 1994 Mike Gillich turned state's evidence in exchange for a reduction of his Sharpe I sentence. The show traces the connections that led to the murder: a Louisiana inmate represented by Halat had been scamming homosexuals from behind prison bars, posing in classified ads as a young man looking for love. These supporting players included: (1) Mike Gillich, Jr., owner and operator of the Golden Nugget, a night club and strip joint in Biloxi, Mississippi; (2) John Ransom, a parolee from a Georgia prison; (3) LaRa Sharpe, Nix's girlfriend and a paralegal; (4) Peter Halat, . Halat defended him from 1979 to 1988. Just before Sharpe went to federal prison for the first time in 1992, Eason no longer had a guardian or a home in Ocean Springs. The calls ranged from December 1986 until Sept. 15, 1987, the day after the Sherry murders. There was no blood spray. Vincent, a conservative Democrat, was a circuit court judge and a criminal defense attorney. They also contend that the government violated their due process rights by changing its theory of the crime after the 1991 trial. All of the same great people, writers and editors but now with more firepower. United States v. Fisher, 106 F.3d 622, 632 (5th Cir.1997) (internal quotations omitted). I mean, there were a lot of battles. The men who responded to these ads were wooed and asked to wire money to one of Nixs associates. He said he walked in far enough to see Vinces body before coming outside and telling a neighbor to call the police. See Fed.R.Evid. I had some participation because of the association that I had., RELATED: Remembering the Sherry murders, Lonely Hearts scam and those involved. He found Vincents body in the den, and Margarets in the bedroom. Nix and Halat argue that the government declared the conspiracy over in Sharpe I in May 1996. The district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting this evidence. They found 345 phone calls between Halats office and the Angola prison in Louisiana. This story was originally published January 17, 2023, 7:00 AM. In perpetrating this scam, Nix enlisted the aid of several individuals outside the confines of prison. Baylis and Putnam were inmates who testified that Holcomb admitted to them that he killed the Sherrys. WebShe was a Biloxi city councilwoman from 1981 to 1985, and she ran for mayor as a Republican in 1985 but lost to incumbent Gerald Blessey. We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence by viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. 803(6), the business records exception. United States v. Williams, 874 F.2d 968, 976-82 (5th Cir.1989). Halat was dismissed early as a suspect. Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Gulfport basketball coach Owen Miller resigns, Two arrested in murder of missing Hinds County man, Louisiana couple accused of taking 2 year old from hospital arrested in Bay St. Louis, Coroner IDs man killed in Gautier shooting, police name wanted suspect, Hancock County parents keep kids home after middle school student threatens shooting, Authorities raid CBD stores in Hancock County, charge business owner with selling controlled substances. We first examined these events in United States v. Sharpe, 995 F.2d 49 (5th Cir.1993) (Sharpe I). United States v. Mulderig, 120 F.3d 534, 540 (5th Cir.1997). [E]ven if we find an abuse of discretion in the admission or exclusion of evidence, we review the error under the harmless error doctrine. Id. . See Fed. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. Margaret was a force to be reckoned with as well. . They lived in a lovely house. I need to put it down and if somebody pays any attention to it, thats fine, and if they dont, thats fine too.. An indictment may be duplicitous if it joins in a single Count two or more distinct offenses. United States v. Baytank (Houston), Inc., 934 F.2d 599, 608 (5th Cir.1991). Under the Blockburger test, each offense must contain an element not contained in the other; if not, they are the same offense within the Clauses' meaning and double jeopardy bars subsequent punishment or prosecution. Their daughter assumed they had changed their plans. As to the change in government theories, the defendants contend that due process rights are violated when a prosecutor presents two different and inconsistent theories of the same crime in two different trials. The Court noted that [i]nsofar as the question is one of legislative intent, the Blockburger presumption must of course yield to a plainly expressed contrary view on the part of Congress. Id. 371 for conspiracy to violate the fraud-by-wire statute 1 and the murder-for-hire statute, 2 and for substantive wire fraud violations. She said she did not sleep a single night in the 10 years after her parents death, until Halat was finally convicted for his role in plotting the murders of his friends and neighbors. Police took Vincents files from his time as a defense attorney and also from when he was a judge. Here again the evidence was sufficient to convict Holcomb of this crime. When authorities asked Halat who the calls were with, he said they were between a law office aide and his client Nix. However, if there is a single agreement on an overall objective, multiple conspiracies may be tried as a single enterprise conspiracy under RICO.