A Juneau jury sat through nearly three hours of recorded — and seemingly bland — phone calls Tuesday between an inmate and the woman he allegedly assaulted, but it’s what the jurors didn’t hear that continues to drag out a multi-felony case.
“When I say that these people been violating my rights all along, they have and I’m proving it as a part of this conspiracy, and collusion, and corruption, and extortion of the rule of law under the rules of the court. Ain’t nobody following no rules and I deserve justice,” self-represented defendant Laron Carlton Graham, 38, told Judge Philip Pallenberg after jury members weighing in on Graham’s trial were dismissed.
Graham has repeatedly claimed during out-of-turn speeches that prosecutors — and even his former public defenders — have conspired to pin a murder on him while he stands trial for felony assault, robbery, theft and tampering with a witness’ testimony. Those charges arose from an alleged attack March 17 at a Gruening Park apartment involving a woman and her then 1-year-old child. But Graham claims that the incident was the direct result of a 24-hour FBI surveillance mission requested by the Juneau Police Department.
[Inmate defends himself, blames ‘corrupt’ police]
In fact, the events from March 17 are rarely the topic of Graham’s cross-examinations. Those are more often than not about how police planted seeds in the victim’s mind that caused her to perceive a greater threat than what actually existed.
ADA Kemp, representing the state during the trial, played for jury members 11 phone calls between the victim and Graham in which he asked the victim on several occasions to sign a notarized form declaring she wanted to retract her statement that Graham slapped her while she held her baby, then threatened to throw her out of her second-floor window.
The phone calls served as support for the witness tampering felony, seven unlawful contact misdemeanors and one ignoring a domestic violence protection order misdemeanor Graham also faces. Each time a caller from Lemon Creek Correctional Center — who sounds like Graham but never introduces himself as such — contacted the victim she pressed “1” to accept the call, which Graham tried to use as a defense against the no contact misdemeanors. JPD Officer Jason Van Sickle, Witness for the state, disagreed with that reasoning.
“She wasn’t under obligation not to talk to you, that was you,” Van Sickle replied.
Graham attempted to play different recorded phone calls in court Tuesday, along with portions of a grand jury testimony by Van Sickle that he believes will prove Van Sickle has gone back on his word about a phone found on Graham when he was arrested. However, Graham has failed on multiple occasions to introduce the evidence according to court rules. The jury had to be excused while Judge Pallenberg again tried explaining court procedures to Graham.
Although Graham is seemingly in need of representation to assist him as he tries to dismantle the state’s case, he claimed in court Tuesday — and several times before then — that his former public defenders (called “public pretenders” by Graham) are also part of a bigger plan to put him in prison for a crime he did not commit.
“They wanna know why (Assistant Public Defender Grace Lee) backed away from me and called conflict of interest — ‘cause she was asking me questions about murder when I wasn’t locked up about no murder. I check her right then and there about her conspiring with (ADA) Angie Kemp and the prosecution’s office,” Graham said.
[Defendant-turned-attorney is a murder suspect]
A call to Grace Lee’s office was not returned by press deadline to discuss Graham accusations. Tuesday’s court session was supposed to conclude the state’s side of the trial, but Graham’s cross examination of Van Sickle did not conclude in time and it will flow into Wednesday’s hearing. Witnesses subpoenaed by the defense are also expected to take the stand then.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
