August 15, 2018 at 5:22 p.m.
Allen, Lussier convicted in Iron County homicide case, sentenced to life without parole
Judge: 'Meth is death'
Allen, Lussier convicted in Iron County homicide case, sentenced to life without parole
By Abigail Bostwick-
A 12-peron jury deliberated for just under two hours Monday before rendering guilty verdicts in the dual trial of Richard Allen, 28, and Joseph Lussier, 27, both of Lac du Flambeau, for killing tribal member Wayne Valliere Jr., 25.
Curtis Wolfe, 26, Lac du Flambeau, and Evan Oungst, 28, Arbor Vitae, are awaiting trial on the same charges.
The fifth defendant, James Lussier, 19, Woodruff, accepted a plea deal on lesser charges and is slated for sentencing Nov. 5.
Neither Allen nor Joseph Lussier testified at trial. When questioned by Judge Patrick Madden, both stated they did not want to testify and were not coerced into silence.
James Lex, public defender for Allen, and defense attorney Greg Haukaas, representing Lussier, both requested the sentencing be held at a later date to allow time for a pre-sentence investigation to be conducted, but Madden stated the court's intent was to go ahead with the hearing as "... the court has all the information ..." required to make his ruling.
Prosecution's closing arguments
Standing in front of a large photo of Valliere, prosecutor Richard Dufour told the jury he learned the Ojibwe word "chookamig-ezhichiged," from the victim's father. It translates to "an act so horrible it doesn't belong on this earth."
"This is definitely a word used to describe what these two defendants did to Wayne Valliere, Jr., the morning of December 22," Dufour said. In those days before Christmas, Valliere's family reported him missing and hoped for a peaceful conclusion. "Wayne didn't have peace. But he will," the prosecutor said.
Valliere had planned to go hunting with his father and was planning a wedding with his fiancé, Iris Carufel, Dufour said. "All those days were stolen away by the defendants."
Valliere was at a party with Lussier and Allen on Dec. 21, where Allen reportedly heard Valliere was a police informant and drew a gun, threatening to kill him.
The three men eventually left the party and picked up three women, as well as Oungst, James Lussier and Wolfe, corut documents state. The women were dropped off and the six men left town, stopping at an Arbor Vitae gas station where cameras recorded the red van they were traveling in and several of the men. Cellphone records then track the men traveling north to Mercer, the murder scene and then to Park Falls and back to Lac du Flambeau the morning of Dec. 22, according to trial testimony. Additional gas station photos in Mercer and one in Park Falls corroborate the story, the prosecution said.
Accounts vary as to what happened next, however Valliere was eventually beaten, shot nine times and left in the snow.
According to trial testimony, his body was hidden 22 feet behind a berm where it was found about a week later covered in snow, frozen and having been preyed upon by wildlife. Oungst led police to the location, according to the criminal complaint.
"He was shot not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, not six times, not seven times, not even eight times," Dufour told the jury. "He was shot nine times. How much more intentional can an act be than to shoot a man nine times? When you take a person and you leave them in the cold and snow far from anywhere ... you know that person is going to die ... there's no way that body wasn't hidden."
Family and friends of Valliere wept openly during the recounting of his death.
Dufour said the evidence offered over the course of the six-day trial proved Allen and Lussier's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He cited the eyewitness accounts of Wolfe and James Lussier, as well as confessions by the defendants told to a cousin and a jail cellmate. The objective evidence of ballistics, DNA, fingerprints and toxicology all bolstered the case, he added.
"The defendants, in their own words, (confessed) in a jail cell phone call," Dufour said, referring to recorded calls in 2017 and 2018 where Allen and Lussier laugh and discuss Allen becoming a "demon," gang slang for one who has taken a life. They also spoke of police going door to door in the Lac du Flambeau community where "... they're looking for that ghost ..." alluding to the already-deceased but not yet located Valliere.
A black knit hat with the phrase, "Native Pride," was found in the van after police impounded and searched it. The hat tested positive for Valliere's DNA, the prosecutor noted. In the Arbor Vitae gas station photo, Valliere is seen wearing a matching hat.
Displaying the murder weapon, Dufour told jurors it had been proven to be the gun that shot Valliere.
"The evidence shows clearly Wayne was shot with this gun," he said. "The gun Richard Allen had in December. The gun he called 'baby.' The gun of which every single casing was found. Those casings were fired from this gun. We know this gun killed Wayne Valliere."
The motive, Dufour said, is possibly the most tragic aspect of the case.
"The main reason was their belief he was an informant. There was no actual evidence he was an informant," Dufour noted. "(And), he had the audacity to disrespect Joe Lussier the day before."
Dufour was referencing an event recounted in the testimony of an eyewitness who said Valliere hit Joseph Lussier on the back of the head after Lussier threw a cross necklace out of a car window.
"I'm asking you to find justice for Wayne and find the defendants guilty," Dufour said.
Defense closing arguments
"It's going to boil down to who you believe," Lex said in his closing argument.
The defense attorney said the eyewitnesses and testimony from others the prosecution had called were unreliable - citing a "jailhouse snitch and man with a head injury." Many, he said, have multiple criminal convictions and had told police a variety of stories.
"James Lussier changed his story and told dozens of lies," Lex stated.
Additionally, he said, DNA and fingerprint evidence was scarce.
With a small community and social media, it would be easy for independent witnesses to come up with a shared story, he continued.
"Our position is the state has not established (guilt) beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.
Haukaas, who called one witness on his client's behalf, said "This is a big case. They want you to be overwhelmed. But if you look carefully, you'll see inconsistencies and there is not evidence beyond a reasonable doubt."
James Lussier, Haukaas observed, worshipped his older brother, Joseph Lussier. In turn, Joseph Lussier looked after his younger sibling and when asked, said of him testifying for a lesser charge, "Do whatever you have to do to get him out (of jail.)"
Those who testified against the defendants had prior criminal convictions and told "lie after lie after lie," Haukaas told the jurors.
The defense attorney also questioned why Oungst had not shown up at the trial and cited the shaky credibility of others who took the stand. He also wondered why cigarette butts were not checked for DNA or additional shell casings.
"Do your job and make sure the verdict is not guilty," Haukaas concluded.
Jury finds guilt
After just under two hours, the jury came handed over a guilty verdict.
"I'm very impressed with the degree of effort you put forth," Madden told the jury of their service. "You've been attentive and patient."
Before the defendants were walked out to be shackled prior to their sentencing hearing, family and friends of Valliere called, "You'll get yours," while supporters and family of Allen and Lussier yelled to them, "We love you, brothers. See you in 10."
Family members speak
Prior to sentencing, family members and friends of both the victim and defendants were given the opportunity to address the court.
"It blows my mind to watch people who don't have remorse for taking a human life," said the victim's father, Wayne Valliere, Sr., Lac du Flambeau. "(Wayne) had a lot of love in his heart. He was truly loved by a lot of people."
When his son went missing, a huge cloud came over him and his family, Valliere Sr. continued. When he learned of his son's death, the impact was that of a hurt he'd never known in his life, he said.
"His whole life flashed before my eyes, all the joy and all the happiness," Valliere Sr. observed. To Allen and Lussier, he said, "The animals saw what you did. The birds saw what you did. The trees saw what you did."
Valliere said he sat in a sweat lodge with Allen just months before, where Allen had told him he was trying to change his life.
"What you did has changed everybody, forever" Valliere said to Allen.
Valliere noted he raised his son to play ceremonial drums, a Native American tradition that took 25 years to teach him.
"You took it from our family, from your family, from your generations to come," Valliere said. "This has been the lowest point of my life. My happiest, was when he was born, and I looked into his eyes."
Valliere Jr.'s fiancé, Iris Carufel, said a first love is never forgotten.
"So, of course I remember his arms around me the last time," Carufel said among tears. "Before he walked out the door with Joey Lussier."
The couple had planned to be married in October of this year. Carufel said they hoped to start a family and looked forward to their life together.
Carufel also spoke of her inability to eat or function in the days following her fiancé's disappearance.
"Every day, something reminds me of him," she said. "His life was taken with the utmost cruelty."
Valliere Jr.'s sister, Amanda Valliere, also took the stand to speak before the judge.
"He was a great person ... a great soul," she said as she cried, remembering all the firsts she taught her younger brother and stating how much she'd looked forward to doing the same for his future children. "These murderers took all that away from us. They took a great person from this world. This senseless murder leaves so many questions."
She turned to Allen and Lussier. "He trusted you guys. You betrayed him, and our community, and our family."
Jonelle Allen, Lac du Flambeau, who said she was Joseph Lussier's sister, stated, "I don't know what I'd do if that was my brother," she said to Valliere's family. "I love my brother. He's been my best friend since we were little. I can't look at him and see a murderer."
Jonelle Allen said drugs change people, and make people "do bad things." She said her family lacked a father figure and Joseph Lussier grew up before his time.
"He's a really loving person," she said. "I'll stand by his side no matter if he did it or not."
Charlene Theobald, Lac du Flambeau, Allen's mother, said her son was teased and bullied from a young age due to his medical condition, alopecia. Allen was a champion boxer and was passionate about the sport until a probation agent "snatched it away and left him with nothing," she added. She also cited ongoing drug problems in the community, with no solutions in sight.
Maximum sentences issued
Lex and Haukaas asked Madden to consider the possibility of parole at some point in the future for their clients.
"There are no winners in this situation," said Lex, noting the case was "a drug issue."
"We don't have to compound the situation by sending him away," he said. "There needs to be a light at the end of the tunnel."
Allen stood to speak on his own behalf, turning toward Valliere's family.
"Despite what anyone in this room thinks ... I speak as a Native," he said. "Everyday, my heart is heavy. You think I have no heart? I do. I'm ashamed of myself ... I pray for you guys every day. Every day. Your son was my best friend."
Lussier, without standing, simply stated, "Give me what I got coming."
After brief consideration, Madden said, "We all know this. Meth is death. And this is absolute proof."
Madden observed there were not enough words in the English language to describe the horror the victim and his family had endured.
"The absolute horrors ... incomprehensible, absolutely contrary to the belief and teaching of your people," said Madden to Allen and Lussier. "What this really is, is disrespect for life. To kill a man, and leave him in the woods where they knew he'd be preyed upon is egregious."
"This isn't a happy moment for anyone," he added. "Guns do not enhance life. They end life ... I do not see any reason for that gun to exist other than to cause chaos and death," he said of the murder weapon. "I certainly am bothered by this handsome young man being snatched from life ... it's a sad thing."
"You are a leader," said Madden to Lussier. "(But) you led people down the wrong path ... to death, despair and sadness."
Madden sentenced both men to life in prison, no parole, with five years consecutive to both defendants for homicide. For hiding a corpse, both received the maximum sentence as well - 11 years plus five years for the repeat offender enhancer.
Comments:
You must login to comment.