We Just Won a BIG Trial!
We Just Won a BIG Trial!
NOT GUILTY!
October 25, 2024
We Just Won a BIG Trial!
Our trial lawyers Wade Smith and Matthew Hefti won a
NOT GUILTY verdict for our client.
We Just Won a BIG Trial! The Incident
In January 2021, a young woman had just left work for the day and was grabbed from behind at knifepoint. The parking garage was located in the public building where she worked. The assailant was a much bigger man, and attempted to drag her into a nearby stairwell. Fortunately, another employee in the building drove into the parking garage. Upon seeing that car, the assailant let the woman go and ran off. She immediately reported the incident to a Deputy Constable who provided security for the building. The woman gave a vague description of a heavy-set black male. She said he was wearing a black mask, but made no mention of it being someone she recognized.
Our client was a maintenance man assigned to this building. He had worked there nearly every day for the previous three years and was an exemplary employee and showed up 20-30 minutes early for work every day. Our client always completed his work and never had any disciplinary issues or problems with people. He was a family man who regularly had prayer meetings with his family on his lunch break.
As the building’s primary maintenance man, the woman saw him making his rounds of the building on an almost daily basis. Therefore, they were familiar with one another, occasionally exchanging pleasantries. The building had minimal security cameras, but our client was seen riding the elevator with the woman that morning when they both arrived for work. He was seen getting on and off the elevators at various times throughout the day. As a result of this timing and proximity, law enforcement decided he was a suspect. However, the woman didn’t describe her assailant as the maintenance man she knew.
Law Enforcement Involvement
Law enforcement brought the woman a photo array with our client included but she did not identify his picture as her assailant. They brought her a second photo array with a different picture of our client included. She still did not identify our client as her assailant. Law enforcement then brought her a third photo array with yet another photo of our client included. Over the course of a week, law enforcement continued to talk to her. They presented her with the photo arrays and the woman’s description of her assailant began to evolve.
In the third photo array, our client and the remaining men in the filler photos were wearing Covid masks of various colors and designs. As she reviewed them again, she said, “that’s familiar”. She said that the “black, white and gray” mask indicated to her that he was the assailant.
As a result, our client was charged with the second-degree felony of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. From the beginning, our client professed his innocence. The case finally made it to trial earlier this week, where Wade cross examined both the police officer and the woman. He asked how it was they came to accuse our client.
Both the woman and the investigator agreed that one major function of photo arrays is to exclude innocent people. They also both agreed that the woman had twice said our client was not the man who assaulted her. By the end of their testimony, the woman admitted she did not see our client when she was assaulted.
The result was a NOT GUILTY verdict and We Just Won a BIG Trial!
Here’s what our client said about several of our lawyers:
Wade B. Smith
“Wade’s ability to communicate is the biggest thing that stood out to me.
The way he forms his thoughts… his entire thought process is amazing.
When he went on the attack, he was very methodical, asked questions and led the courtroom.
Wade let them do all the talking and didn’t have to get into any theatrics.
He allowed the witnesses to give the information they were comfortable giving.
He did exactly what he planned. Wade got them into his methodical web of bringing
out the truth of what they either say they saw or didn’t see.”
Matthew J. Hefti
“Matthew Hefti was a great source of comfort for me.
Every time I was nervous, he would see my legs or hands shake. When I had a look of despair
on my face, he always found a way to reassure me that everything would be okay.
Matthew is one of the reasons, along with Wade, that I never felt alone in the courtroom.
He would lean over to me to explain Wade’s processes.
Wade would get them to talk rather than to do the talking himself.”
Paul C. Looney
“I spoke with Mr. Looney at the beginning when I asked this law firm to represent me.
One of the things Paul asked me was what was not what was in the police report but what did they actually say.
He asked me, ‘They never identified you at the beginning of this case?’
And I said, ‘No.’ That was when he was like, ‘okay,’ and I saw that smile.”
“This law firm is the only reason I got through this case.
Every other lawyer I talked to, even when they saw the evidence, were unsure.
They weren’t confident. When I talked to Mr. Looney, I knew I found the law firm right for my case.”
“I 100% highly recommend this law firm.”