[Ppnews] Omaha Two story: (Part 19) - Opening arguments in Omaha Two trial 40 years ago

[Political Prisoner News]

<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/forty-years-ago-opening-arguments-omaha-two-trial-began-nebraska>http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/forty-years-ago-opening-arguments-omaha-two-trial-began-nebraska


Forty years ago opening arguments in Omaha Two trial began in Nebraska

    * By <http://www.examiner.com/user-richardsonreports>Michael 
Richardson, COINTELPRO Examiner
    * April 1st, 2011 11:09 am ET
Omaha Two story: April 1, 1971

The murder trial of 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/prison-interview-with-ed-poindexter-on-cointelpro-and-the-omaha-police>Edward 
Poindexter and 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/prison-interview-with-mondo-we-langa-on-cointelpro-and-omaha-two-case>Mondo 
we Langa, then David Rice, began with opening arguments.  The 
courtroom atmosphere was tense from the tight security which included 
searches of courtroom spectators.  Throughout the trial, a deputy 
sheriff scanned the audience for signs of trouble.

In his opening statements to the jury, with eleven white jurors and 
one black juror, Douglas County Assistant County Attorney Arthur 
O'Leary charged that the two defendants conspired with Duane Peak to 
plant a bomb at 2867 Ohio Street on August 17, 1970.

An ambush bomb in a vacant house killed Patrolman 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/omaha-patrolman-larry-minard-killed-ambush-bombing-after-911-call>Larry 
Minard, Sr. while responding to a 911 call about a woman screaming.

O'Leary stressed that his case would depend largely on the testimony 
of Peak.  O'Leary said that Peak's story would be corroborated with 
the testimony of other witnesses and scientific evidence.  The 
prosecution team of County Attorney Donald Knowles, O'Leary, and Sam 
Cooper asked the jury for the death penalty for the two Black Panther 
leaders on trial.

Thomas Kenney, Douglas County Assistant Public Defender, next spoke 
to the jury and full courtroom of spectators.  Kenney, representing 
Ed Poindexter, told the jury the state had made a "stew" and the 
defense would let the state eat it.

Kenney questioned the credibility of any testimony that came from 
Peak.  Kenney suggested Peak had incriminated Poindexter in order to 
save himself.  Kenney recounted a brief history of Peak's sixteen 
years concluding that Peak was a person who had no love for whites 
generally and no love for police in particular.

David Herzog, a private attorney representing Mondo we Langa, 
followed Kenney with a recitation of three different stories Peak had 
told about the case.  Herzog said that Peak's various modifications 
made his testimony most incredible.

Herzog told jurors that Peak's attorney had made an agreement with 
prosecutors to secure Peak's testimony.  Herzog also said the police 
were out to get the two men because they were the leaders of the 
National Committee to Combat Fascism.

Herzog said the pair were men "who did not feel that the government, 
police, or the white power structure were immune to criticism."

The jury was not told about the clandestine 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/crimes-of-cointelpro-heard-at-northeastern-law-school-seminar>COINTELPRO 
actions that had targeted Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa for over a 
year.  The role of the illegal counter-intelligence operation in the 
case was unknown at the time other than by the FBI agents involved.

Following a two hour recess the prosecution called its first witness.

Patrolman John Tess described the early morning search of the vacant 
house on Ohio Street and told of Larry Minard's final moments before 
a suitcase bomb exploded in his face.

Omaha Police dispatcher Milton Newcomer told of the call coming in 
and telling officers dispatched to the scene to "Use caution."

Patrolman John Sledge, whose brother Thomas Sledge was an agent with 
the 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/atf-agents-compete-with-fbi-summer-1970-to-arrest-black-panthers-omaha>Division 
of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, testified he was the first officer in 
the house.  He was at the rear when Larry Minard bent over the 
suitcase in the front doorway.

The major part of the afternoon was occupied by the testimony of the 
various police officers who answered the call as each in turn 
identified photos of the body of Larry Minard.  Patrolman John Toay 
testified he recognized the defendants from photos contained in 
police "intelligence reports" on "known militants and troublemakers."

Throughout the first day's testimony the two defendants sat in sharp 
contrast to one another.

Ed Poindexter sat pensively listening to the testimony and talking to 
his attorney while he made notes on a yellow legal pad.  Poindexter 
would occasionally consult a dictionary at his side.

Mondo we Langa appeared more casual, sketching drawings on a 
notepad.  Other times he would put his artwork aside and sit smiling 
in what seemed good-natured boredom as the court proceedings advanced.

The first day of the capital murder case closed without a single 
reference to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   COINTELPRO and 
the FBI plan to withhold information about the identity of Larry 
Minard's killer would never be known by the Omaha jury.

To view all of the Omaha Two story articles click 
<http://www.examiner.com/omaha-two-story-in-national>HERE

Permission granted to reprint

Michael Richardson
COINTELPRO Examiner
Examiner.com



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