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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Drug suspect shocks courtroom

2006-09-01

Stop here and read no further if you are eating breakfast. Seriously. This isn't a pleasant story.It is an unusual story about the depraved act of a Chicago man convicted Thursday of importing cocaine into Duluth. "Come next February I will have been doing this work for 30 years," St. Louis County prosecutor Vern Swanum said Thursday evening. "Just about the time I think I have seen every weird, strange, bizarre situation that could come up in a courtroom -- that nothing more could surprise me -- something like this occurs. You simply can't make this stuff up."

Vandale Amos Willis, 28, fired his public defender in the courtroom Thursday morning and elected to represent himself. That happens.
Vandale must have his own defense strategy.
What happened next has never before been seen in the St. Louis County Courthouse or perhaps any courthouse. Willis smeared his own feces across the top of the table where he and Swanum were sitting and also spread it on a chair. He threw some more on the carpeted floor before displaying even more bizarre behavior.
More bizarre you ask?
"He was literally smearing feces on his face and into his mouth," Swanum said. "He was putting it into his mouth. That's when he kind of advanced toward me. As I explained to one of my compatriots, that's when I decided to redeploy to a more secure position."
Good move Vern.
Swanum said Willis has no recorded history of mental illness. "I think he was trying to goad the court into declaring a mistrial," Swanum said. "I can't get into his mind, but I believe it was intentional manipulative conduct."
Ahhhthe ole caged primate defense.
A St. Louis County sheriff's deputy removed Willis from the courtroom.

"Bailiff! Remove the defendant!"
"Ummm... Where's the tongs, yer honor?"

You think Joe the Janitor is grumpy...wait till he gets a load of this.
He was brought back to court to complete the trial Thursday afternoon.

"And make sure he has a shower!"

The defendant had requested he be tried by a judge instead of a jury. Sixth Judicial District Judge David Sullivan found Willis guilty of all three crimes he was charged with -- importation of controlled substance across state borders, first-degree possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and first-degree possession of cocaine. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month. He faces a guideline sentence of 86 months in prison. Sullivan is the judicial district's chief judge. He declined comment on Willis' behavior. He could have found Willis in contempt of court, but didn't.
Geedo ya think?
The defendant's alleged accomplice, Derick Carothers, 23, also of Chicago, is awaiting trial on the same charges. Duluth police said that Carothers provided a taped statement in which he said he and Willis traveled from Chicago, each of them carrying one ounce of cocaine concealed in their buttocks.
Makes for a long ride no doubt.

"Are we there yet?"

Willis also gave police a statement in which he said he and Carothers traveled by bus from Chicago to Duluth in June and expected to make about $5,000 selling the two ounces of cocaine they transported. The Lake Superior Drug and Gang Task Force arrested the two defendants at 702 E. Fourth St. on June 7. A search warrant was executed and cocaine was removed from Willis' buttocks.
Don't you just love a poetic finnish.

Posted by:DepotGuy

#5 You think Joe the Janitor is grumpy...wait till he gets a load of this.

He did get a load of it.

Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-01 17:00

#4 A Fleet Phospho-soda with a water chaser about 10 hours before the next hearing will solve the little child's problem. However, I do recommend that no other human be in the same cell with the lad and appropriate water hoses are within the lock crew's arms reach. It was good enough for my colonoscopy, its good enough for him.

Posted by: Ulumble Angeck2580 2006-09-01 13:14

#3 One ounce. That's a butt-load of coke, man.

Posted by: Javitle Spunter2762 2006-09-01 12:41

#2 Now, talk about an incompetent judge. This fool makes Ito look like a Supreme commander. Where did he get his own crap? Did he shuck his drawers and and crap in the courtroom ? I would had had the bailiff over there to crack his skull open with a baton in a heart beat. The only thing the reporters would have been gushing over is spilled brains oozing all over the floor.

Posted by: SOP35/Rat 2006-09-01 12:41

#1 OK, tack on a charge of Lewd and Lascivious Bhavior, Public Indecency, Disorderly Conduct, and Contempt of Court. There. Fixed it.

Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-01 11:12

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