Copyright 2001 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)
March 29, 2001 Thursday
High Stakes in Penny-Ante Case;
Man faced 10 years in theft of 58 cents
By Tina Susman; STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Belvidere, N.J.-The charge was burglary, punishable by as much as 10 years in prison. The booty: 58 cents. The key witness: Sasha, a hulking hound whom the defense attorney subpoenaed in an attempt to prove her client's innocence. The verdict: not guilty-sort of.
The rambling case of Michael Monroe reached its bizarre conclusion yesterday in Warren County Superior Court nearly two years after the alleged crime, closing a saga that some say should never have started. In the end, more than $16,000 in public funds was spent jailing Monroe and paying for his three-day jury trial on burglary and criminal-trespass charges stemming from the disappearance of 58 cents from the front seat of a Navy blue Chevy Tahoe in June 1999.
Prosecutors alleged Monroe, a down- and-out construction worker, slipped his arm through a slightly open window of the pricey SUV, helped himself to the spare change and might have helped himself to the vehicle had the owners not scared him off. The defense insisted that Sasha, a Rottweiler who tips the scales at nearly 100 pounds, was in the car, making it impossible for anyone-much less the frail-looking Monroe-to break in.
"Nobody in their right mind is going to get into a vehicle with a dog that looks like this! Nobody!" defense attorney Regina Lynch said in her 45-minute closing arguments, pointing toward a 3-by-4 color photograph of Sasha.
Fearing raucous results, Judge John Kingfield on Tuesday had opted to show jurors the dog's picture rather than require the subpoenaed dog's presence in court.
The jury deliberated 30 minutes before declaring Monroe not guilty on both the burglary and criminal-trespass counts, but that still left the judge to decide one charge: theft of the 58 cents, which for technical reasons was an unindictable offense not decided by jurors. As Monroe wept with relief upon hearing the jury's findings, Kingfield declared him guilty of theft, saying he was convinced Monroe had stolen the money despite jurors' conclusions.
Assistant Prosecutor James Janci, who had vowed to seek the maximum penalty of 10 years on a burglary conviction, then asked for the maximum of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for theft. But the judge sentenced Monroe to time served (95 days) and set him free.
For all the case's comic undertones, those involved said it raised serious issues.
"This is not about 50 cents or 52 cents or 58 cents," Janci said in his closing arguments, countering allegations the offense was too menial to warrant such aggressive prosecution. "This is about the crime of burglary."
Prosecutors emphasized Monroe's record, which included 15 convictions on charges from forgery to cocaine possession. "This individual has total contempt for the balance of the law," Janci said.
Lynch insisted this was a case of the rich against the poor, of the charmed against the underdog, with Monroe and Sasha as pawns. She said David Laman, the SUV's owner, hoped to make a quick buck after he claimed to have seen Monroe in the car when he left a ShopRite with his wife.
He complained to ShopRite officials of the alleged break-in instead of phoning police, Lynch said, alleging his plan was to get the store to compensate him for lax parking-lot security. Only after the store notified police did the Lamans find themselves involved in a court case, and one that could reveal a potentially worse crime than burglary: animal cruelty on their part, Lynch said.
Monroe disputed Laman's insistence that the SUV's windows were open several inches to give Sasha air, and he said he approached the closed vehicle after hearing the yelps of the hot, thirsty dog. The Lamans came out and accused him of breaking into the car, fearful he might report them for leaving their dog in danger, Monroe said.
In a tearful appeal to the judge for a light sentence, Monroe, 50, pleaded for the chance to turn his life around.
"I know I haven't been an angel all my life," he said, but he begged to be allowed to return to Pennsylvania and spend time with a dying sister. "Let me go home. I'm tired. I just want to go home."
None of the jurors would explain the verdict or Sasha's impact on the case as they left the courthouse.
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