Photo source - TS
Jurors find Applegate guilty
by Kara Machado, 6/13/2007
One juror wept softly, holding a tissue to her face, as the verdicts in the Thomas Arthur Applegate case were read Wednesday.
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John T. Feeney’s clerk read the verdicts aloud in court.
For count one, Applegate, 44, of Templeton, was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Joey Patrick Church, 34, and the jury found that he did so with a firearm.
For count two, the jury found Applegate guilty of the second-degree attempted murder of Ross Condemi, 48, and found that he did so with a firearm.
With regard to count three, Applegate was found not guilty of the assault of Condemi with a firearm; the jury also determined that Applegate did not commit the special allegations associated with count three — that he used a .44-caliber pistol or that he inflicted great bodily injury.
During the reading of the verdicts, Applegate — as he did during the majority of his more than two-week trial — stared straight ahead, with his attorney Humboldt County Public Defender Kevin Robinson sitting to his right.
Church’s sister wept during the readings; Applegate’s family looked straight ahead.
Wednesday’s verdicts were reached the day after the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the first-degree option on the murder charge and two days after the jurors first announced they were “hopelessly deadlocked” with regard to what degree of murder Applegate committed.
Applegate’s case stems from a May 4, 2003, incident in which, testimony revealed, he entered Church’s Bridgeville home and ultimately shot Church, killing him, and shot Condemi, wounding him.
Two of Church’s children — then ages 7 and 10 — and Church’s girlfriend were at the home during the shooting, but were not shot at or injured, testimony revealed.
Once Wednesday’s verdicts were read, Feeney advised and thanked the jurors for completing the first phase of Applegate’s trial.
Due to Applegate pleading not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, phase two of his trial is slated to begin Friday morning.
Phase two of the trial will consist of the jurors hearing testimony with regard to Applegate’s insanity defense.
Feeney told jurors Wednesday it is anticipated phase two will consist of three days of testimony and it looks as though the trial will be completed by June 22, the date by which the court had initially estimated the trial proceedings to be finished.
Humboldt County DA Paul Gallegos — the prosecutor in the Applegate case — was not present at Wednesday’s proceedings; Humboldt County Deputy DA Allan Dollison sat in for Gallegos.
Both Dollison and Robinson declined to comment.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
Discussion at watchpaul
Previous coverage:
Insanity phase of trial begins
Jurors find Applegate guilty
First-degree murder off table
Jury deadlocked in murder trial
ER - Jury begins deliberating in Bridgeville murder trial today 6/6/2007
ER - Bridgeville murder trial enters third week of testimony
ER - Murder trial continues with evidence technician's testimony
ER - Witness testifies about Bridgeville murder
ER - Sheriff's detective takes stand in murder trial
ER - Father of man accused of murder given immunity
ER - Testimony in murder trial reveals meth use, witness of handgun
ER - Acquaintances of man on trial for murder testify
ER - Surviving shooting victim takes stand in second day of murder trial
ER - Children of slain man take the stand in his murder trial
TS - Trial underway in '03 Bridgeville killing
ER - Jury selected for Applegate trial
TS - Jury selection under way in trial of suspect in 2003 homicide
ER - 2003 murder case goes to trial
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