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Thread: DeShaune Stewart Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 2018 OH Murders of Lance Dempsey and Ginger Ballard

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    DeShaune Stewart Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 2018 OH Murders of Lance Dempsey and Ginger Ballard


    DeShaune Stewart


    Suspect faces federal charges in deaths of 2 Dublin postal workers

    By WSYX/WTTE
    ABC6OnYourSide.com

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A disgruntled postal worker accused of fatally shooting his supervisor at an Ohio post office and later killing a postmaster has been indicted on federal charges carrying the possibility of a death sentence.

    The indictment announced Thursday by county and federal prosecutors charges 24-year-old DeShaune Stewart, of Columbus, with two counts of murdering an officer of the United States.

    Authorities say Stewart shot and killed 52-year-old Lance Dempsey at a post office in suburban Dublin in December. They say he then killed 53-year-old Ginger Ballard at an apartment complex.

    Authorities say Stewart was naked during both attacks.

    Police say the violence appeared to be retaliation for Stewart's pending dismissal at work.

    A message seeking comment was left with Stewart's public defender.

    http://abc6onyourside.com/news/local...postal-workers
    Last edited by Helen; 06-01-2018 at 07:44 AM. Reason: Title; added Federal, spacing and capitalization
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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Man who killed 2 postal supervisors found not guilty by reason of insanity
    By Marc Kovac
    Posted Sep 24, 2019 at 12:38 PM
    Updated Sep 25, 2019 at 6:35 AM

    A Columbus man was found not guilty "only by reason of insanity" Tuesday for the brutal killings of two of his Dublin post office supervisors two days before Christmas in 2017.

    DeShaune K. Stewart, 25, of the Southeast Side, could have faced the death penalty on two counts of murder of an officer of the United States. Instead, he will be evaluated and likely confined to prison for the foreseeable future after multiple psychologists determined he had suffered manic and psychotic episodes at the time of the crimes and was not fully aware of his actions.

    "No one wins in this situation," U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson told a packed federal courtroom in Columbus just before announcing the outcome. "There's only loss and heartache."

    It was an unusual case, as both prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed from the start on the facts of the case and the expected sentence.

    Stewart arrived naked at the Emerald Parkway post office in Dublin just before 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2017, where he killed his supervisor, Lance Herrera-Dempsey. Stewart then drove to the Northwest Side apartment of Dublin postmaster Ginger E. Ballard, whom he later beat to death in the parking lot.

    Stewart was arrested at the latter scene, later telling police that God told him to kill his supervisors, at one point spitting out two pieces of Ballard's jewelry that he claimed were being used to "suck out his soul," according to documents.

    "Stewart told investigators that he decided to kill the victims the morning before the murders," said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James L. Lowe. "He stayed in a hotel the night before the murders because he was afraid ... the victims were putting 'spells' on him."

    Defense attorney Diane M. Menashe said late 2017 marked the first time Stewart had experienced such mental illness symptoms and that he had spent the days before the killings reading and reciting numbers and Bible verses and sleeping little.

    Stewart waived his right to a jury trial Tuesday, opting instead to have Watson hear the case directly in a bench trial that included opening and closing statements and formal admission of evidence. Only one person, a postal inspector who handles investigations, testified.

    Stewart opted against speaking until after the final sentence was announced, when he apologized to the family members of the two people he killed.

    "I'm sorry for taking them away from you," Stewart said. "At the time, I thought I was commanded by God ..."

    Tuesday's hearing included statements from family members and loved ones of both victims.

    They described Herrera-Dempsey, 52, as a loving husband, uncle, brother and son who was hardworking and who cared for the sick and hurting — the rock of his family taken too soon.

    "You committed two murders, and for that there needs to be consequences," his husband, Steve Dempsey, said during Tuesday's hearing. "I ask this court today to keep you behind bars for as many years possible."

    Ballard, 53, was described as a beloved daughter and friend who enjoyed rock climbing, art and bookstores. Ballard had an infectious laugh and looked for the positive in people and situations.

    Her father, Jerry Ballard, recounted his final phone call with his daughter the morning she was killed, just after Stewart had shot his first victim to death.

    "Whoever takes a life, he has no idea how many lives he has ruined, including his own," Jerry Ballard said Tuesday about Stewart, who he said should receive a death sentence or life behind bars without the possibility of parole.

    Ballard's longtime companion, Karen Garber, described the final voicemail she received that same morning, the audio of Ballard during the attack.

    "This young and vibrant women that I loved was gone," she said. "I don't understand what the punishment is (for Stewart) ... You took every happy tomorrow away...."

    Watson will determine Stewart's future after a new psychiatric evaluation. He likely will be confined and reevaluated every six months to determine whether he is a danger.

    "I can't see there being a time when we can risk that," said Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers of Stewart's possible future release.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dis...emplate=ampart

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