Under the Blockburger test, each offense must contain an element not contained in the other; if not, they are the same offense within the Clauses' meaning and double jeopardy bars subsequent punishment or prosecution. [W]e defined the statutory term administration of justice as the performance of acts required by law in the discharge of duties such as appearing as a witness and giving truthful testimony when subpoenaed. The perjurious witness can bring about a miscarriage of justice by imperiling the innocent or delaying the punishment of the guilty. United States v. Griffin, 589 F.2d 200, 203 n. 4, 204 (5th Cir.1979). Although the conversation with her confederate occurred before the 1991 indictment, the government did not prosecute Sharpe for that conversation.

As to the government knowingly presenting false testimony, reversal is required if it is shown that: (1) the testimony was false; (2) the testimony was material to the verdict; and (3) the prosecutor knew or believed the testimony to be false. After the individual inquiries, the judge recalled all the jurors to the courtroom, and urged them to consider the evidence, to deliberate, and to act civilly.

That was when Easons childhood ended, and the life of her child began a year and one day later. Gillich testified about the conspiracy in which he, Cook, Holcomb, and others participated. However, if an indictment is duplicitous and the defendant is prejudiced, then the conviction may be subject to reversal.

Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. She was his girlfriend, Sheri LaRa Sharpe. Mr. Fabian is serving a life term for kidnapping and has been sentenced in Mississippi to another life term for killing a horse breeder. She worked out of Halat's office and along with Halat rented a safety deposit box in which they kept cash generated by Nix's operations. It charged Halat with obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice based on false statements made during the 1991 investigation and trial testimony, conspiracy to violate the racketeering statute, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Thomas Leslie Holcomb, the triggerman in the 1987 Sherry murders, died April 8, 2005, while serving a life sentence in federal prison in Beaumont, Texas. That one was closed out and another opened.

3. There was no obituary for him posted on the funeral homes website. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the convictions and sentences of all appellants. October 22, 1996. Vincent and Margaret Sherry were murdered in their Biloxi home.

its just a story, Eason said. There was no blood spray. This argument is foreclosed by our authority that Section 201(c)(2) does not apply to government plea bargains in exchange for testimony. This story was originally published January 17, 2023, 7:00 AM. He told investigators that he had refused to kill a woman, so he passed it off to another hitman, but he did provide the murder weapon with a homemade silencer. See United States v. Franklin, 148 F.3d 451, 459 (5th Cir.1998).

Finally, Holcomb asserts that the district court erred by admitting double hearsay. 1503 (obstruction of justice), 18 U.S.C. Question: As of that date or as of the time you received the information from the F.B.I., whatever date that was prior to May 13th, 1988, what knowledge did you have of your office being used, as a depositor of scam funds? at 1192-93. The Supreme Court developed the Blockburger test, a rule of statutory construction triggered when the same conduct violates more than one statutory provision. The photos werent of themselves, but usually of beefcake pinups.

Mob members outside the prison, threatening to expose the letter-writers as homosexuals, would demand money, the authorities said.

When a judge and his wife were found slain in gangland fashion in their home here four years ago, suspicion immediately fell on a loosely knit criminal group the authorities call the "Dixie Mafia" or the "Cornbread Cosa Nostra.

I think a lot of times we think that things are unachievable. Police found rubber foam around their wounds and the floor around their bodies. He was a man of Croatian descent who started out life in a large, poor family before building his wealth as an entrepreneur along The Strip in Biloxi, the Dixie Mafias home base. The indictment included the following excerpt of the testimony involved: Question: At some point in time, did you come to learn whether or not there was a scam, homosexual scam operating out of Angola in which Kirksey Nix was involved? Moreover, Gillich indicated that it was not Ransom who had murdered the Sherrys1 ; but, rather, Thomas Holcomb, a contract killer hired by Gillich. We affirmed these convictions in Sharpe I, 995 F.2d 49 (5th Cir.1993). Id. at 688, 113 S.Ct. . The men who responded to these ads were wooed and asked to wire money to one of Nixs associates. The complaints alleged that juror number six used lewd and sexually explicit language towards other jurors, made sexually explicit comments about trial participants, behaved rudely, and made his decision based on factors outside of the evidence.

Halat was dismissed early as a suspect. Now, hell pay for it, Pier 15 opens with food, drink, entertainment and its own Biloxi River sand beach. SHERI LARA SHARPE A. He was shot in the mouth, shattering his teeth. Eason said shes still living with the fallout of her life with her infamous mother.

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When they were murdered in their home in September of 1987, it looked like a professional hit. Holcomb, former Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, Nix and Sharpe were convicted in the second Sherry trial in 1997 for their roles in the murders. Gillich admitted that Halat was involved in the scams and the murders. Police took Vincents files from his time as a defense attorney and also from when he was a judge. Some did report the scams only to be dismissed by police. 403 (stating that relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice). C.Government Testimony Violating 18 U.S.C. All of the same great people, writers and editors but now with more firepower. I didnt feel threatened around him, she said. In a 1990 WLOX interview, Sharpe talked about her ties to it all. Count 5 involves Sharpe's testimony that she never delivered money to Gillich. 2407. killer; his former girlfriend, Sheri LaRa Sharpe of St. Francisville, La. Sharpe contends that: she was the only defendant not indicted on the drug conspiracy charge which was the primary focus at trial; she was not charged with murder or conspiracy to murder the Sherrys; and evidence with no relevance to charges against Sharpe predominated at trial. See id. WebHome. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. Fed R. Evid. 9.

For reprints, email [emailprotected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, were slain in their Biloxi home on Sept. 14, 1987, in a plot involving a lawyer, a Louisiana prisoner and a strip club owner. IRS Agent and White Western club member. In 1996, the government indicted Nix, Sharpe, Hallat, and Holcomb on dozens of charges, including racketeering, fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to obstruct justice. It took thorough investigative work and Mike Gillich Jr. telling all to take Halat down. The authorities said that in some cases the inmates would lure their correspondents into writing compromising letters and sending their own photos. Further, in determining whether the evidence reasonably supports the charge, the evidence and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from it are viewed in the light most favorable to the government. When he was eligible for release, hed also have to spend three years on probation. Seventy-year-old Halat was released from the halfway house in April 2013. He was trying to earn enough money to buy his way out of prison. A variance results when the charging terms of the indictment remain unaltered, but the evidence at trial proves facts other than those alleged in the indictment. United States v. Ramirez, 145 F.3d 345, 351 (5th Cir.1998). Margaret was a force to be reckoned with as well. SHERI LARA SHARPE Motion to Dismiss the Indictment In 1991, the government indicted Sharpe for and a jury convicted her of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

Halat also argues that his ten year sentence for obstruction of justice violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution because at the time he engaged in the prohibited conduct, the sentence for obstruction of justice was only five years, rather than ten. Nix and his prison syndicate would place personal advertisements in national homosexual magazines. 1377. . Nix argues that the jury did not make specific unanimous findings regarding underlying racketeering activities in convicting him, and that the district court usurped the role of the jury in making these specific findings. 2407, 85 L.Ed.2d 764 (1985). After his conviction in the 1972 murder of Frank Corso, a New Orleans grocery executive, Nix began serving his life sentence without parole at Angola State Penitentiary. Nixs inside connection was LaRa Sharpe, his girlfriend who worked in the Sherry-Halat law firm.

I need to put it down and if somebody pays any attention to it, thats fine, and if they dont, thats fine too.. Want more WLOX news in your inbox?

Therefore, the obstruction counts are not multiplicious. Halat was released from a Montgomery, Alabama federal prison in 2012. WebIn this criminal appeal, Defendants-Appellants LaRa Sharpe, Mike Gillich, Jr., Kirksey McCord Nix, and John Ransom appeal their convictions under 18 U.S.C. Gillich was reportedly known and trusted by almost all members of the Dixie Mafia, earning the trust of those who trusted no one else. Its a battle to be poor.. See, e.g., United States v. Scott, 159 F.3d 916, 924 n. 6 (5th Cir.1998) (citing six different conspiracy cases in which the court has used a deliberate ignorance instruction and noting that the court has consistently held the deliberate ignorance instruction proper when supported by sufficient evidence).

This Circuit has established a two-part test to determine when a deliberate ignorance instruction is warranted. In 1991, Sharpe was already in Louisiana state prison for wire fraud.

Sharpe was released from federal prison in 2002. Sharpe had been born in an Arkansas brothel. United States v. Williams, 874 F.2d 968, 976-82 (5th Cir.1989). The prosecutors indicated in trial statements that Mr. Halat was the target of a continuing investigation into the scheme, but they have refused to talk about any inquiry related to him when questioned outside the courtroom.

When men would respond to these ads, Nix or one of his associates would indicate that he was having financial difficulties and needed the respondent to wire money to a Nix associate outside prison. The Sherrys oldest daughter, Lynne Sposito, was a persistent figure in the murder investigation. Members were not united by heritage and had no known hierarchy or oath. Evidentiary rulings must be affirmed unless they affect the complaining party's substantial rights. However, Holcomb has not shown that the court was obligated to grant the defendant assistance of an expert under these circumstances. Halat also met and spoke with those planning the Sherrys' murders. We affirm if a rational trier of fact could have found all essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Fabian also told Armistead that Nix and Gillich had hired an assassin in the Dixie Mafia named John Ransom.

Everyone knew they were supposed to be in Baton Rouge. Rhodes testified further that he was out of town during the murders and that later Ransom told him that he had murdered the Sherrys. Mr. Nix, who admitted at the trial in November that he had authorized the scheme, denied involvement in the slayings. We can now extend to other conditions that may be part of your everyday lives and help you on a broad level if that is what you need. Email me at jcamhi@sunherald.com. See United States v. Trammell, 133 F.3d 1343, 1354 (10th Cir.1998). We review the bribery issue for plain error, since the defendants failed to object at trial. I just knew what I wanted my life to look like and how I wanted it to be. She was an active politician on the Coast and was elected to the Biloxi City Council from Ward VII. Thompson v. Calderon, 120 F.3d 1045, 1058 (9th Cir.1997) (en banc), rev'd on other grounds, 523 U.S. 538, 118 S.Ct. Count 10 involves Sharpe's testimony that she never discussed the scam with Gillich. Nix continued his schemes from jail after the 1991 trial. The one-hour segment, called Biloxi Confidential, reminded Dunne of his own sojourn on the Coast, where he was stationed while in the U.S. Army during World War II. A defendant must show specific and compelling prejudice against which the district court could not provide adequate protection, and that this prejudice resulted in an unfair trial. See United States v. Mitchell, 31 F.3d 271, 276 (5th Cir.1994) (citations omitted). Here again the evidence was sufficient to convict Holcomb of this crime. WebNo one has been charged with the killing of Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry or his wife, former Biloxi councilwoman Margaret Sherry, who were shot to death in their home Sept. 14, 1987.

Halat indicated that he suspected Vincent Sherry, Halat's former law partner and a Mississippi Circuit Judge, of stealing the money. Alternatively, Nix and Halat assert that even if the indictment can be read to allege only one violation, the government proved multiple conspiracies at trial, creating a fatal variance from the one conspiracy alleged in the indictment. Eason was just 16, and reality set in particularly around Nix. Halat and Nix contend that the government knowingly presented perjured testimony.

Im finding in my research that it does bring back certain things, Eason said. See Id. From its 17th-century French origin through the mid-1950's, when a Senate panel counted more than 300 gambling establishments in Biloxi and surrounding Harrison County, officials were unable or unwilling to suppress it.

Satisfied with his investigation of the matter, the trial judge sent the jurors back for further deliberations. Still, the seamy events that led to the slayings of the judge and his wife were astounding, even to law-enforcement officials.

I had a lot of anger toward the press, Eason said.

Count 51 alleges the following: Beginning in 1985 and continuing until October 26, 1996, the date of the indictment, Nix and Halat conspired to devise a scheme to defraud by means of wire (telephone and telegraph) in violation of 18 U.S.C. Im always interested in well-to-do people, and they were well-to-do. Mr. Fabian named a fellow inmate, Kirksey McCord Nix Jr., 48 years old, as the mastermind of the scheme and the murders. Sharpe was sentenced to one year and one week in prison for her part in the Lonely Hearts scam and wire fraud. Count I charged Sharpe with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and stated that [i]t was part of the conspiracy that the co-defendants, co-conspirators and confederates cover up and conceal the objectives of the conspiracy and their involvement therein. Count I cited Sharpe's receipt of scam money from a Nix confederate in January and February 1986 as an overt act.

At the time of their deaths, the Sherrys were both 58 years old.