Page 2 of 6 FirstFirst 1234 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 53

Thread: Brian David Horn - Louisiana Death Row

  1. #11
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Attorney resignation delays court hearing

    A defense attorney's unexpected resignation prompted a postponement Wednesday of plans to argue pending motions to suppress evidence in the capital murder case of a Keachi man accused in the death of a Stonewall boy.

    Defense attorney Ross Owen informed District Judge Robert Burgess that co-counsel Elton Richey resigned Nov. 1 from the Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana, which provides legal services to indigent defendants facing the death penalty. Two new attorneys have been assigned; however, one is on a previously scheduled vacation.

    District Attorney Richard Johnson said his office only learned Tuesday that Richey is no longer representing Brian Horn. Burgess rescheduled the hearing for 9 a.m. Nov. 16.

    Still unresolved are motions seeking to throw out evidence seized in connection with Horn's arrest March 30, 2010, in the death of Justin M. Bloxom, 12.

    Identified in the motions are items seized in a search of the Action Taxi Cab that Horn operated under contract, a Dell desktop computer removed from his home and an AT&T SIM card taken from Horn's brother's vehicle.

    DeSoto sheriff's investigators say Horn portrayed himself as a teenage girl through cellphone text messages with Bloxom and set up a meeting with the preteen. Horn drove his taxi to pick up Bloxom from a friend's house on the pretense of meeting the girl.

    Horn ran out of gas on U.S. Highway 171 just south of Stonewall. Bloxom's body was found in a wooded area across the fence hours after he had been reported missing. Horn, a twice-convicted sex offender, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

    A trial date has not been reset after cancellation of the August session in Lincoln Parish.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...-court-hearing

  2. #12
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Prosecutors amend Horn murder indictment

    Prosecutors today amended an indictment charging a Keachi man in the death of 12-year-old Justin M. Bloxom, of Stonewall.

    The move is a legal technicality and won’t change the focus of the trial against Brian D. Horn. “We’re going with the simplest form of indictment that the law allows,” said Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorney Brady O’Callaghan, who is serving as a special prosecutor for the DeSoto district attorney’s office.

    Still, it requires Horn, 35, to be re-arraignment on a first-degree murder charge. District Judge Robert Burgess set a Jan. 3 court date.

    Horn is expected to plead not guilty just as he did following his March 30, 2010 arrest in Bloxom’s death. The state is seeking the death penalty.

    The original indictment “alleged certain aggravating circumstances,” O’Callaghan said Thursday following a court hearing. The new one “allows us to use the evidence to prove the particulars of the case.”

    Authorities say Horn, a twice-convicted sex offender, portrayed himself as a young girl in cell phone text messages to Bloxom to set up a meeting. Horn picked up Bloxom in his taxi cab. Bloxom’s body was discovered about three hours later in a wooded area off U.S. Highway 171 just south of Stonewall.

    Burgess also set a Feb. 16 court date to continue discussion of other pretrial matters.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...sey=nav%7Chead

  3. #13
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Evidence hearings continue ahead of Brian Horn murder trial

    The process of determining what evidence will be allowed in the first-degree murder trial of Brian Horn continues in DeSoto Parish. The convicted sex offender is accused in the death 12-year-old Justin Bloxom two years ago next month.

    According to investigators, Horn posed as a female and lured Bloxom, through text messages, to take a cab ride to supposedly meet up with a young girl. Instead, investigators believe that Horn attacked and smothered Bloxom and dumped his body in a wooded area.

    The state is still trying to get some key evidence allowed at the trial, which Horn's attorney has fought. Prosecutors say they're working on bringing FBI investigator to the stand to explain what happened to a warrant for cell phone records seized from Horn's brother's truck following his arrest. Horn's defense has argued that investigators did not have permission to search the devices.

    But the judge did hear testimony Thursday about previous crimes allegedly committed by Horn, including the rape of a teenaged girl in Missouri.

    Horn was accused of taking at least two young girls in separate incidents to his car, where he allegedly fondled them. He was arrested by a Caddo Parish Deputy on a warrant related to one of those cases in 1998 and charged with indecency with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

    Also on Thursday, KSLA News 12 confirmed that Horn's attorney, Ross Owen, will be leaving the case.

    http://www.ksla.com/story/16954318/e...n-murder-trial

  4. #14
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Child murder suspect objects to sexual identity references

    An accused child murder suspect who already wears the label of twice-convicted sex offender doesn’t want to be referred to as either “homosexual” or “bisexual” during his capital murder trial, according to a recent motion filed in DeSoto District Court.

    That was among several additional pretrial motions filed July 6 by Brian Horn and discussed Tuesday in DeSoto District Court. Judge Robert Burgess set an Aug. 1 deadline for the state and defense to respond to the motions prior to his rulings.

    Burgess also encouraged attorneys to “look down the road to a trial date.” A tentative date set last August didn’t materialize because of the volume of unresolved pretrial matters. No date was set this year.

    Burgess noted August is always open in Lincoln Parish for jury selection but he has not ruled out an earlier setting. It should be “reasonable,” he said, to coordinate calendars within the next few months to select a trial date next year.

    Defense attorney Daryl Gold asked Burgess to consider the Lafayette area or “somewhere with no Shreveport exposure.” Burgess said he is open to other jurisdictions.

    Even though the actual trial proceedings will be held in DeSoto Parish, the jurors will be selected from another geographic area because of extensive publicity about Horn’s alleged crime. Horn is charged with first-degree murder in the March 30, 2010 death of 12-year-old Justin M. Bloxom, of Stonewall. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

    Authorities said Horn, 35, of Keachi, kidnapped Bloxom in his Action Taxi Cab after luring him away from a friend’s house by pretending through text messages to being a young girl. Bloxom’s body was found in a shallow pond in a wooded area adjacent to U.S. Highway 171 south of Stonewall hours after he was reported missing.

    As for the motion concerning Horn’s request to prohibit prosecutors from commenting on sexual identity, Burgess indicated he would grant the motion mainly because he couldn’t perceive where it would come up in the trial unless references were made during open statements or closing arguments.

    However, the judge said it’s possible the “door would open” during witness testimony. Assistant District Attorney Brady O’Callaghan, a Caddo Parish prosecutor who’s assisting with the case, said he had no plans to make the references but wanted to be able to pursue it if it becomes a “relevant issue.”

    In his motion, Horn said making reference to him being either homosexual or bisexual is “highly prejudicial.” Burgess said he would circulate an order to the attorneys seeking their comments before signing it.

    Other motions awaiting Burgess’ decision include:

    • Constitutionality of the seizure of and search of the Action Taxi and a SIM card by law enforcement.
    • Admissibility of evidence of Horn’s prior convictions.
    • Provisional admissibility of reports and results generated by the FBI in its forensic analysis of a cell phone and computer.
    • Legal propriety and admissibility of Horn’s other crimes in the penalty phase.
    • Pending motions to quash the indictment based on Voter Rights Act litigation.
    • Defendant’s effort to obtain police and investigative personnel files.

    Also still outstanding is process that will be used to test for DNA on strands of barb wire from the fence surrounding property where Bloxom’s body was found. The defense wants to know the process that will be used and assurance there will be enough material left for its own independent analysis.

    O’Callaghan said the crime lab technician is available to meet with the defense to explain the process. Burgess suggested that issue be resolved by Aug. 1.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...text|FRONTPAGE
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  5. #15
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    2nd Circuit reverses earlier decision in Bloxom civil case

    A Bossier City taxi cab business owner’s “overt degree of negligence” should not allow him to “stand in the shadows of the corporate veil to avoid personal liability for the murder of Justin Bloxom,” the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal ruled Friday in an unusual reversal of an earlier opinion.

    The 3-2 decision remands the case to DeSoto District Court Judge Robert Burgess for further proceedings. No date has been set as it is anticipated the appellate court’s ruling will be taken to the state Supreme Court.

    The 2nd Circuit in May affirmed Burgess’ summary judgment dismissing Action Taxi owner David McFarlin from a civil lawsuit filed in May 2010 by Amy Bloxom Fletcher on behalf of her son, Justin M. Bloxom, 12, of Stonewall. Other defendants include the taxi cab corporation, city of Shreveport, Hallmark Insurance Company of Texas and Brian Douglas Horn.

    Justin Bloxom’s body was found March 30, 2010 in wooded area off U.S. Highway 171 near Stonewall after he had been reported missing from a friend’s house. DeSoto Parish sheriff’s investigators say Horn, 35, of Keachi, picked up Justin Bloxom in his Action Taxi cab after posing as a young female through text messages, then killed him. Horn is awaiting trial for capital murder.

    McFarlin, president of Blue Phoenix Trading Co., the parent company of Action Taxi, hired Horn even though he knew from his driver’s license that he was a twice-convicted sex offender.

    In court filing, Fletcher asserted McFarlin “owed a duty to Justin, his mother and the public not to allow a known sex offender to operate a taxi.” McFarlin responded that imposing personal liability on the individual who actually hires an allegedly negligent employee would result in the personal responsibility of many managers and defeat the purpose underlying the distinction between the individual and the corporation.

    The three-judge 2nd Circuit panel, with Judge D. Milton Moore, of Monroe, writing the opinion, then agreed with Burgess that Bloxom’s death fell outside the scope of McFarlin’s duty or reasonable care in hiring drivers for his corporation. Prior court cases were cited as guiding factors.

    But in Friday’s ruling, Judge Larry Lolley, of Monroe, wrote for the majority in response to the reversal of its ruling that followed a rehearing to address the issue of whether McFarlin owed a “personal duty” to Fletcher to protect her son from the risk of sexual assault and murder at the hands of Horn.

    At the oral argument, McFarlin’s counsel argued that the “circumstances of the particular injury to Justin could not be reasonably foreseen or anticipated.” But the court disagreed, “In fact, placing a known sex offender in a taxi cab, with unfettered access and control over his passengers who assume they are in a position of safety is akin to placing the proverbial fox in the hen house. The purpose behind the sex offender registration law is to protect the public from repeat offenses.”

    The opinion continues, “In this particular case, for this particular employee, who was hired by McFarlin for the particular purpose of driving a cab, we believe there exists a genuine issue of whether McFarlin had a personal duty to Justin and, now, his mother. In fact, this case is the exception, not the rule, for which prior jurisprudence has allowed a crack, even a sliver, to pierce the corporate veil and find the corporate officer personally liable. We are willing to slip through that crack in this particular case and give the trial court the opportunity to open that door at trial.”

    In the dissent, Moore stated the opinion would likely “tatter the corporate veil.” He added the case is perhaps the right one for the state Supreme Court to take and reaffirm or clarify its general pronouncements in an earlier, unrelated court case used as guidance in the court’s initial ruling.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...=2012120905004
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  6. #16
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Trial date set in DeSoto capital murder case

    Jury selection for a Keachi man accused in the March 30, 2010, death of Justin M. Bloxom, 12, of Stonewall, will begin June 24 in Lafayette.

    Once selected, the panel will be taken to DeSoto Parish, where it will hear the evidence in the first-degree murder trial of Brian Horn. The capital case is expected to extend over several weeks.

    The state is seeking the death penalty.

    Bloxom’s body was found in a wooded area off U.S. Highway 171 near Stonewall after he had been reported missing from a friend’s house.

    DeSoto Parish sheriff’s investigators say Horn picked up Bloxom in his Action Taxi cab after posing as a young female through text messages, then killed him.

    A status conference is scheduled for Feb. 20 in DeSoto District Court to give the defense and state the opportunity to review any unresolved issues. It’s uncertain if new motions have been filed.

    The file in the DeSoto Clerk of Court’s office is sealed from public viewing.
    In October, Burgess denied all but one of a half-dozen pending motions.

    The only motion getting his approval was the one in which Horn, a twice-convicted sex offender, asked not to be referred to as either “homosexual” or “bisexual” during his trial.

    In early discussions about a trial location, Burgess considered Lincoln Parish.

    A jury has been selected from there before for another capital case in DeSoto Parish.

    A tentative date for Horn’s trial was eyed for there last summer, but it was not formally pursued because of the pending motions.

    Defense attorney Daryl Gold, who assumed the role of lead counsel for Horn after the resignations of attorneys Ross Owen and Elton Ritchey, asked Burgess later to consider Lafayette for the jury pool.

    The summer trial date was set after Burgess received confirmation from the judicial district of the availability of the courtroom.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...al-murder-case
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  7. #17
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Defense granted delay in Horn capital murder trial

    Exactly two months to the day before the capital murder trial of convicted sex offender Brian Horn was set to begin, the judge in the case has agreed to give the defense more time to prepare.

    Horn, 36, is accused in the abduction and murder of 12-year-old Justin Bloxom in March of 2010. DeSoto Parish deputies say the twice-convicted sex offender and cab driver posed as a 15-year-old girl via text message to lure Bloxom out of a friend's house. The boy's body was found in a wooded area along U.S. Highway 171 the next day.

    The trial was set to get under way on June 24, but at a hearing in mid-April, the defense asked for more time to prepare for trial.

    That request was based on testimony from a "mitigation specialist" working for the Louisiana Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana, which is representing Horn in the case. Mitigation specialists are key players in the defense in any capital case, researching and compiling comprehensive information on defendant's lives, motivations and histories that may become relevant in the penalty phase of a trial, should they be convicted.

    In a hearing on April 15, the mitigation specialist in the Horn case told the judge that she would not be ready in time for a June 24 trial.

    Late Wednesday morning, DeSoto District Court Judge Ron Burgess issued a ruling granting the defense motion for continuance, saying "The matter is continued without a date, pending further orders from this court."

    DeSoto Parish District Attorney Richard Johnson says the ruling is not a setback, but a delay, and it's one he says "the State does not agree with at all."

    "Our position is that the defense has had plenty of time to prepare for the trial, for a long time. There is no reason the mitigation specialist hasn't been able to get up to snuff."

    By early Wednesday afternoon, Johnson said his office was in the process of filing notice of the State's intent to appeal Judge Burgess' ruling with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

    So far, no new court hearings have been set.

    http://www.ksla.com/story/22068051/d...l-murder-trial
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  8. #18
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Trial date, venue set in Brian Horn murder trial

    After several delays, a trial date and venue has been set for the man accused in the 2010 abduction and murder of a 12-year-old Stonewall boy.

    Desoto Parish District Attorney Richard Johnson says the first degree murder trial of Brian Horn will begin with jury selection on February 10, 2014 in East Baton Rouge Parish.

    The 36-year-old, twice-convicted sex offender and cab driver is accused of posing as a 15-year-old girl via text message to lure Bloxom out of his friend's house and into his cab in March 2010.

    The boy's body was found in a wooded area along U.S. Highway 171 the next day.

    Jury selection was originally set to get under way on June 24 in Lafayette, in an effort to find a pool of jurors less likely to have heard of or have much knowledge about the case. The trial itself will take place in DeSoto Parish.

    In mid-April, Horn's attorneys asked for and was granted more time to prepare.

    The state then asked for an August trial date, but the defense argued they would need more time than that to research and compile all of the information that would be considered in the penalty phase of the trial, should Horn be convicted.

    Johnson as said the state will be seeking the death penalty for Horn if he is convicted.

    Laws in Justin Bloxom's name have been passed in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. Bloxom's mother, Amy Witham Fletcher, says there are efforts to pass similar laws in Arkansas and Mississippi and eventually in every state.

    http://www.ksla.com/story/22921102/t...n-murder-trial
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  9. #19
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    New fingerprint evidence threatens start of DeSoto murder trial

    Defense attorney seeks continuance to hire his own expert to analyze fingerprint confirming Justin Bloxom was in his accused murderer's taxi cab.

    By Vickie Welborn
    The Shreveport Times

    MANSFIELD — The revelation Monday that a fingerprint lifted four years ago from an accused murderer’s taxi cab has been confirmed as a match to his alleged victim threatens to derail a capital murder trial scheduled next week.

    A hearing is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday in DeSoto District Court for District Judge Robert Burgess to decide if a motion filed today by defense attorney Daryl Gold warrants a continuation of the first-degree murder trial of Brian Horn, 37, of Keachi.

    Until Monday, there had been no direct evidence putting homicide victim Justin M. Bloxom, 12, of Stonewall, inside the cab driven by Horn, who is accused of kidnapping the boy from a friend’s house and leaving his body hours later in a small body of water near Stonewall. A fingerprint taken from the vehicle had not been matched to anyone.

    In his motion for continuance, Gold states he spoke with Caddo sheriff’s Deputy Owen McDonnell who advised his office received a disc Friday containing a latent print and a known print of Justin. The latent print from the passenger seat of Horn’s Action Taxi cab was positively matched to Justin.

    “I don’t understand and nobody has explained to me sufficiently yet why it takes four years for them to match a fingerprint. So far, I’ve had a phone call telling me about it. I’ve not see a report yet. I get the information a week before trial and that’s the only piece of physical evidence that connects Justin Bloxom to that taxi cab. And this could change our entire defense strategy,” Gold told The Times.

    Gold says he needs time to hire a fingerprint expert to view and evaluate the fingerprint analysis the state intends to introduce as evidence. He is doubtful that can be done prior to Monday, which is when jury selection is supposed to begin in East Baton Rouge Parish.

    But DeSoto Parish District Attorney Richard Johnson, who agrees the fingerprint is “very important evidence,” sees no reason for a delay of Horn’s trial. It took the state’s expert only three to four days to analyze the fingerprint, Johnson said, so he reasons Gold could do the same even if it takes him into next week.

    “It will take a week to pick the jury in addition to us having to put on our case-in-chief so our opinion is it should not delay the beginning of the trial. Alternatively, if it does delay the beginning of the trial then it should not be more than a week,” Johnson said.

    Once selected, the East Baton Rouge Parish jurors are scheduled to be transported to DeSoto Parish for the actual trial proceedings, which could take at least two weeks to complete.

    The decision was made to select the jury from another area because of extensive publicity about Justin’s death, which occurred on March 30, 2010. Justin was a popular North DeSoto Middle School student, and his family has strong ties in the area.

    Horn, a twice-convicted sex offender, has won previous arguments to delay his trial. A last ditch effort two weeks ago, however, failed. Then, Horn, who took the stand for the first time since his arrest, offered bizarre testimony about a missed mental disease diagnosis, coupled with out-of-body experiences and unexplained behavior as reasons he said he should be evaluated further by psychiatrists.

    Horn claimed doctors missed a history of schizophrenia in his family, and he also self-diagnosed himself with schizotypal personality disorder after reading a book. He blamed that along with beatings and rapes during prior incarcerations for causing him to do things in his life for which he had no explanation.

    Gold objected to Burgess’ denial of the continuance at that hearing. As for the new continuance request, Gold offers no apologizes.

    “I’m sure I’m going to be the bad guy; however, I think it’s malpractice to not file a motion for continuance,” he said.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty should Horn be convicted. Life in prison is another option jurors also can consider.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...nclick_check=1

  10. #20
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    DeSoto man's capital murder trial moved to March 11

    The start date for the capital murder trial of a Keachi man accused in the death of a 12-year-old Stonewall student has been pushed back to March 11.

    The delay is to give prosecutors and the defense team time to prepare following the revelation last week fingerprints only recently identified as belonging to the victim, Justin M. Bloxom, were matched to one previously taken from an Action Taxi cab. DeSoto Parish sheriff’s investigators say the vehicle, driven by twice-convicted sex offender Brian Horn, was used to transport Bloxom from a friend’s house to the location off U.S. Highway 171 near Stonewall where his body was found on March 30, 2010.

    Horn, 37, of Keachi, faces kidnapping and first-degree murder charges in Bloxom’s death. He’s pleaded not guilty. The state is seeking the death penalty if Horn is convicted.

    In a continuation hearing today, District Judge Robert Burgess said the fingerprints are admissible evidence. It will be up to the prosecution and defense to challenge any aspects of the fingerprint identification process during trial.

    The fingerprints became an issue last week when lead defense counsel, Daryl Gold, said the information matching his client to the alleged victim was a “game-changer” for his defense strategy, prompting a motion seeking a continuation of the trial that was scheduled to begin today with jury selection in East Baton Rouge Parish. Before then, the investigation had not turned up any direct evidence putting Bloxom in Horn’s cab.

    Burgess, in a hearing Wednesday, raised his own concerns about information supplied to him about how the fingerprint was confirmed. Those worries were alleviated during today’s hearings after Caddo Parish sheriff’s Lt. Owen McDonnell testified about how he used a computer software program to aid in making the fingerprint comparisons.

    McDonnell, explained the program, CSIpix Comparator, is a digital viewer that allows the user to view fingerprints and make enlargements for side-by-side comparisons. “The beauty of it is it does not allow you to alter the image,” McDonnell said, so it preserves the “image integrity.”

    McDonnell concluded the right index fingerprint and right middle fingerprint lifted from the exterior glass of the passenger front door of the taxi cab are a match to Bloxom. He forwarded his information to three other fingerprint analysts, including two in other states, who concurred with his findings.

    Based on that information, Burgess said it appears the process is routine. “It’s much less complex than what we heard last week.”

    Earlier in the hearing, Burgess offered some insight into his reasons for taking such precautions with the case. “When you try a case, you do it once and you do it right. That’s what we’re striving to do.”

    He acknowledged the “frustrations” at the delays. “(I) understand the desire to move things along.”

    The judge informed the legal team the courtroom in Baton Rouge is reserved March 11-26 for jury selection. The same panel subpoenaed for this week will be used in March. Questionnaires from those potential jurors are already in the state’s and defense’s hands. The final 15 – 12 jurors and three alternates – will be transported to DeSoto Parish for the trial proceedings.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...moved-March-11
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

Page 2 of 6 FirstFirst 1234 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •