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<a href="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</a>
<br><br>
</font><h2><font size=4><b>Forty years ago opening arguments in Omaha Two
trial began in Nebraska</b></font></h2>
<ul>
<li><font size=3>By
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/user-richardsonreports">Michael
Richardson</a>, COINTELPRO Examiner
<li>April 1st, 2011 11:09 am ET
</ul><b>Omaha Two story: April 1, 1971<br><br>
</b>The murder trial of
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/prison-interview-with-ed-poindexter-on-cointelpro-and-the-omaha-police">
Edward Poindexter</a> and
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/prison-interview-with-mondo-we-langa-on-cointelpro-and-omaha-two-case">
Mondo we Langa</a>, 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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
An ambush bomb in a vacant house killed Patrolman
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/omaha-patrolman-larry-minard-killed-ambush-bombing-after-911-call">
Larry Minard, Sr</a>. while responding to a 911 call about a woman
screaming. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
Herzog said the pair were men “who did not feel that the government,
police, or the white power structure were immune to criticism.”<br><br>
The jury was not told about the clandestine
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/crimes-of-cointelpro-heard-at-northeastern-law-school-seminar">
COINTELPRO</a> 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.<br><br>
Following a two hour recess the prosecution called its first
witness.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
Omaha Police dispatcher Milton Newcomer told of the call coming in and
telling officers dispatched to the scene to “Use caution.”<br><br>
Patrolman John Sledge, whose brother Thomas Sledge was an agent with the
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/atf-agents-compete-with-fbi-summer-1970-to-arrest-black-panthers-omaha">
Division of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms</a>, 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. <br><br>
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.”<br><br>
Throughout the first day’s testimony the two defendants sat in sharp
contrast to one another.<br><br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
<b>To view all of the Omaha Two story articles click</b>
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/omaha-two-story-in-national"><b>HERE<br>
<br>
</a></b><i>Permission granted to reprint<br><br>
</i>Michael Richardson<br>
COINTELPRO Examiner<br>
Examiner.com<br><br>
<br>
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