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Jury
finds Mayberrys guilty of felonies
Anthoney E. Mayberry, 41, and John J. Mayberry, 37, were both found
guilty of Attempted Theft, Class D Felony, by a Ripley Superior
Court Jury on May 18. After a three day trial, the jury found that
the brothers tried to steal a Volkswagen dune buggy from Nathaniel
Moore's property located outside of Osgood on 425 North. Anthoney
Mayberry was represented by Mark Dove, Attorney at Law, North Vernon,
and John Mayberry was represented by Bruce MacTavish, Attorney at
Law, Brownstown. The state's case was presented by Chief Deputy
Prosecutor Ryan J. King.
The jury heard from officers from the Indiana State Police, Ripley
County Sheriff's Department, and the Osgood Police Department. The
jury also heard from Moore's neighbor, who had brought the attempted
theft to attention of law enforcement by calling the State Police
in the late evening of March 25, 2006. The neighbor reported that
a small pickup had just dropped people off at Moore's property and
she knew that they shouldn't be there. The officers testified that
when they arrived Anthoney and John Mayberry were hiding and continued
to do so until apprehended. Trooper Ben Bastin and Sheriff's Deputy
Steve Sullivan testified that Anthoney told them he was "alone".
The apprehension of John proved this statement was false. State
Police Sgt. Terry Nickell testified that while the brothers were
being taken into custody a Ford Ranger pulled up to the entrance
of the Moore property. Sgt. Nickell stated that he was the first
officer to speak with the driver of the vehicle, who turned out
to be Terri Mayberry, wife of John Mayberry. While Terri was being
investigated for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, the officers
found a large log chain in the bed of the truck.
On the second day of trial the jury heard from Rob Ewing, Crime
Scene Investigator from the Indiana State Police. Ewing told of
how he took pictures of the scene, as well as made plaster casts
of shoe prints found at the scene. Ewing also diagramed how Anthoney
and John Mayberry pushed the dune buggy from behind the garage into
the driveway. Richard Hammer, Comparisons Expert, then testified
that the shoe casts taken by Ewing matched the shoes worn by John
Mayberry in size, shape and design. The state's last piece of evidence
was a taped interview of Terri Mayberry, which was recorded the
night of the attempted theft. On the tape Terri admits to Trooper
James Wells that she had dropped Anthony and John off at the Moore
property. According to the taped interview with Terri, the brothers
had been talking about building a "trike" and she was
supposed to drop them off and then return for them later. Unfortunately
for the Mayberrys, when she returned the police were in the middle
of an attempted theft investigation.
On the third and final day of trial the jury was taken to the scene
of the crime. The jury observed the Moore property, as well as the
proximity of the Moore property to the reporting neighbor's home.
The jurors saw where the dune buggy had originally sat and where
it was found after the Mayberrys were caught in the process of stealing
it.
John Mayberry took the stand and in his own defense. John told the
jury that he had gotten into a fight with his wife and she had made
him and his brother Anthoney walk home. John said that while they
were walking home they saw the dune buggy and just wanted to look
at it; just in case there was something that they could return to
buy later. On cross examination, King pointed out that Anthony and
John could have looked at the dune buggy where they had originally
found it and that there was no reason to move it, unless their intent
was to steal it. After John testified, the defense rested its case
without calling Anthoney Mayberry to the stand.
The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding
the brothers guilty. Jefferson County records indicate that Anthoney
Mayberry was previously convicted of Criminal Conversion of Property
for taking merchandise from Wal-Mart in Madison. After the guilty
verdicts were read, King asked that the felons be remanded into
the custody of the Ripley County Sheriff while awaiting sentencing.
This request was denied by Superior Court Judge James B. Morris.
Sentencing is now set for June 18 at 1:00 p.m. |
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