Teen charged with murder wants MySpace page, police statement suppressed at trial
The attorney for a York City teenager accused of fatally shooting a former employee of the district attorney's office is asking a judge to suppress evidence in the case, including the teen's statements to police and posts on his MySpace page.
Jordan Wallick, 15, of 706 W. Princess St. and Brick City, N.J., remains in York County Prison for the July 28 homicide of James Wallmuth III. Wallick is charged as an adult with first- and second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit both charges, robbery and possession of a firearm by a minor.
Wallmuth, 28, was pronounced dead at York Hospital at 1:31 a.m. July 29. He worked in the York County District Attorney's Office for about four years as a case manager, but left his job to attend law
school at University of Pittsburgh.Homicide victim James Wallmuth IIIYork City Police said Wallick and three other people went out looking for someone to rob when Wallick approached Wallmuth about 11:06 p.m. July 28 as Wallmuth was sitting on a bench in Foundry Park, near the intersection of Grant Street and West Clarke Avenue.
The robbery went bad and Wallick -- known as "Ghost" and "Lor Ghost" -- shot Wallmuth in the back, police allege.
MySpace page: Defense attorney Dawn Cutaia has filed motions seeking to exclude certain evidence from Wallick's trial, including photos and songs from his page on MySpace.com, a social networking site.
"The photographs appear to be of the defendant making 'gang signs' and dressed in gang colors. The Commonwealth has made no allegation that this crime was gang related," her motion states. "These photos are irrelevant and highly prejudicial."
One song is called "Stick Up Boys," which the motion notes appears to be a song about robbery. However, Cutaia argues it's difficult to understand the words due to poor recording quality, and none of the lyrics appear to be related to Wallmuth's slaying.
Also, she argues, prosecutors can't prove Wallick's MySpace page hasn't been tampered with by other people.
Police statement: Cutaia's motion also seeks to suppress statements made to York City detectives by Wallick during his July 30 interview.
The motion states that Detectives Andy Baez and Tony Fetrow continued to speak with Wallick, in the presence of his adult aunt, after he asked for an attorney.
"Rather than sharply end the interrogation, Detectives Baez and Fetrow continued interrogating the defendant for approximately 30 minutes, explaining how he could help himself out, while recognizing that the defendant had already invoked his constitutional right to counsel," the motion states.
The transcript of that interview shows Wallick never confessed to killing Wallmuth. Instead, the teen repeatedly insisted he was home with his aunt that night.
'One shot': The transcript also shows that after Wallick invoked his Miranda rights, the detectives' questions centered on information needed to fill out Wallick's central-booking form, although they did make statements to Wallick about this being his "one shot" to tell his side of the story.
"Once we don't need your help anymore ... there's nothing you can really do," Fetrow said. He also told Wallick, "You're in the toughest situation you're ever going to be in in your life. ... And you need to think it through and make sure that ... everything makes sense to you."
The transcript shows Wallick continued to ask detectives questions about the homicide and his situation, and Fetrow answered those questions.
Near the end of the interview, Fetrow told Wallick, "(It's) probably good at this point, since you want to talk to a lawyer, that you don't say anything," according to the transcript.
Other motions: Cutaia's motion also seeks to suppress the photographic lineup in which a witness identified Wallick as the shooter.
Wallick is "clearly younger" than the others in the lineup, and only one other photo features someone with a similar skin tone to Wallick, she argues.
"There is a substantial likelihood that the witness' identification is wrong," the motion states.
The motion also asks that jurors not be told:
* That Wallmuth worked in the district attorney's office, as it is "irrelevant and highly prejudicial to the defendant," the motion states.
* Of a statement Wallmuth made to his girlfriend while on his cell phone. That statement -- "Some crack head was asking me for a dollar" -- is hearsay, and it's unclear whether the "crack head" is the same person who later tried to rob Wallmuth, the motion argues.
* That Wallmuth made statements about the pain he was in after being shot. The motion argues the statements are irrelevant and prejudicial.
Cutaia is also asking that Wallick be tried separately from his three co-defendants, two of whom "have made statements implicating themselves and the defendant," her motion states.
The three others charged in Wallmuth's homicide are Kenneth Santiago-Curet, 19, of 706 W. Princess St.; Joshua Edmoundson, 19, of 417 Waldorf Drive in Conewago Township; and Victor Nelson Virola, 18, of 154 S. Duke St.
Santiago-Curet testified against Wallick at the teen's preliminary hearing, and Edmoundson's defense attorney has said Edmoundson is also cooperating with prosecutors.
-- Reach Elizabeth Evans at levans@yorkdispatch.com, 505-5429 or twitter.com/ydcrimetime.
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