The leader of the fraud? Holcomb also contends that the district court should have permitted him to employ an expert witness to challenge Robertson's testimony. Fourth, Holcomb argues Brett Robertson's (Robertson) in-court identification was too suggestive because of a newspaper article and photo Robertson got from his mother. Now, decades later, she and her younger sister Aimee Gilmer are ready to talk. BILOXI (AP) Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease lounge owner who helped plot the 1987 Dixie Mafia murders of a judge and the judges wife, has died. In 1981, he began a criminal law practice in Biloxi with his partner Pete Halat. There were also rumors that Halat met with two inmates to plan the Sherry murders. killer; his former girlfriend, Sheri LaRa Sharpe of St. Francisville, La. 97-1-1 (1972). The government also continued its investigation into the scam and murders. Please try again. The district court did not abuse its discretion in investigating complaints of sexual harassment, intimidation, and reliance on extrinsic evidence. Thus, his right to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury for the underlying activities was negated. When a juror complained to the marshal, the marshal instructed the juror to put his complaints in writing for the court. Do you know the history of any other key players from the Dixie Mafias reign in Biloxi? Nix was the former leader of the Dixie Mafia known for participating in some of the groups most high profile killings, even after his imprisonment. The district court dismissed the money laundering charges as not supported by any evidence. Investigators would come to believe that Vincent opened the door to the killer, who put a gun in his face. He died in 2012. Halat also argues that his ten year sentence for obstruction of justice violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution because at the time he engaged in the prohibited conduct, the sentence for obstruction of justice was only five years, rather than ten. Halat does not contend that his waiver was not informed and voluntary. The hit was pulled off by a group of criminals known as the Dixie Mafia over a Lonely Hearts scam run out of Angola prison in Louisiana to swindle gay men. How much are hotel rooms in Biloxi for Black spring break? A defendant must show specific and compelling prejudice against which the district court could not provide adequate protection, and that this prejudice resulted in an unfair trial. See United States v. Mitchell, 31 F.3d 271, 276 (5th Cir.1994) (citations omitted). RELATED: Daughters of woman connected to Dixie Mafia reflect on childhood. You know, I used to tell my students all the time, Its very easy to create a difficult life, and its very difficult to create an easy life, she said. "Peter Halat knew somebody was going to die, and better Sherry than him," Mr. Fabian said. On Sept. 14, 1987, Vincent and Margaret Sherry were shot point blank multiple times in the head by a hit-man in their North Biloxi home. 1999) Annotate this Case U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - 193 F.3d 852 (5th Cir. Id. That was when Easons childhood ended, and the life of her child began a year and one day later. On July 16, 1997 the jury rendered a partial guilty verdict on all of the charges against Nix, Sharpe, and Holcomb and Halat's obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice charges. It looked as though someone had shot through a pillow or used a homemade silencer, which made sense as Margaret was clearly caught off-guard. 97-3-19 (1972), and Miss.Code Ann. Mike Gillich (Gillich), the alleged underworld boss of Biloxi, Mississippi, aided Nix in his various schemes. They do say that the inquiry into who killed the Sherrys is continuing. We review the bribery issue for plain error, since the defendants failed to object at trial. See id.

Holcomb argues that a conviction based in part upon an eyewitness' photographic identification may be set aside if the procedure was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. 2. See United States v. Felix, 503 U.S. at 387, 112 S.Ct. He was suspected in many murders, usually men or women set to testify against someone in the Dixie Mafia. Some did report the scams only to be dismissed by police. 803(8), the public records exception to the hearsay rule, Holcomb contends that the reports showed that he was not a match with the samples taken from the crime scene.9 Holcomb's reliance on the public records exception is misplaced. Later in September of 1988, police held a press conference to give an update. ; Fed.R.Evid. That morning, Vincent went to court for his normal docket. There was no sign of forced entry to the house. We consider the first prong in greater detail. Web4. See United States v. Yamin, 868 F.2d 130, 132 (5th Cir.1989). Mr. Nix, the authorities say, has maintained tight control over the mob's operations in Louisiana and Mississippi despite spending two decades in prison for killing a grocer. He was both patron and protector to Kirksey Nix, the groups former leader. However, if an indictment is duplicitous and the defendant is prejudiced, then the conviction may be subject to reversal. See Garrett v. United States, 471 U.S. 773, 778-79, 105 S.Ct. Ransom could receive up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000, while Mr. Nix and Mr. Gillich could receive up to 20 years and fines up to $750,000. Nix ordered the hit from prison after Halat, his co-conspirator, took hundreds of thousands of dollars from him and blamed it on Vincent. In September 1987 Halat discovered the Sherrys dead in their home. Police took Vincents files from his time as a defense attorney and also from when he was a judge. She was his girlfriend, Sheri LaRa Sharpe. its just a story, Eason said. Nix reportedly cashed in on hundreds of thousands of dollars from this scam, all from behind bars. Nix planned to pay for a pardon, either from the parole board or from then-Gov. In 1996, the government indicted Nix, Sharpe, Hallat, and Holcomb on dozens of charges, including racketeering, fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Count 1 alleges the following: Nix, Cook, Halat, Holcomb, Sharpe (unindicted), and others known and unknown constituted an enterprise, a group of individuals associated in fact which engaged in various criminal activities affecting interstate and foreign commerce, including 18 U.S.C. He was the most well-known and trusted member of the Dixie Mafia. Want more WLOX news in your inbox? Randy Cook. I had some participation because of the association that I had., RELATED: Remembering the Sherry murders, Lonely Hearts scam and those involved. Its very important to me that my daughters do the right thing and I hope theyve learned by my mistakes., Shes apologized for the things we went through, she said. No one was charged with conspiracy to murder in this indictment, On July 16, the jury found Nix, Sharpe and Holcomb guilty of all charges. First, Holcomb maintains that the trial court erred by excluding the testimony of Bobby Joe Faubion (Faubion). However, if there is a single agreement on an overall objective, multiple conspiracies may be tried as a single enterprise conspiracy under RICO. There was no obituary for him posted on the funeral homes website. However, Holcomb has not shown that the court was obligated to grant the defendant assistance of an expert under these circumstances. To prove a RICO conspiracy the government must establish (1) that two or more people agreed to commit a substantive RICO offense and (2) that the defendant knew of and agreed to the overall objective of the RICO offense. Finally, the judge polled the jurors, asking each if they could be impartial, fair, follow the court's instructions, and base their verdict only on the evidence and the law. As the investigation continued, some people told the police that Vincent had received threats since he had started practicing law in Biloxi, but Halat said Vince never told him about any threats. Holcomb argues that, considered as a whole, the district court's evidentiary errors warrant a new trial. All of the same great people, writers and editors but now with more firepower. The government can not combine totally unrelated agreements and overt acts in a single RICO conspiracy. See United States v. Sutherland, 656 F.2d 1181, 1194 (5th Cir.1981). After finding out about the Lonely Hearts scam, Armistead went to Angola prison and met with Dixie Mafia member Bobby Joe Fabian. From its 17th-century French origin through the mid-1950's, when a Senate panel counted more than 300 gambling establishments in Biloxi and surrounding Harrison County, officials were unable or unwilling to suppress it. Satisfied with his investigation of the matter, the trial judge sent the jurors back for further deliberations. Sharpe contends that: she was the only defendant not indicted on the drug conspiracy charge which was the primary focus at trial; she was not charged with murder or conspiracy to murder the Sherrys; and evidence with no relevance to charges against Sharpe predominated at trial. Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, were slain in their Biloxi home on Sept. 14, 1987, in a plot involving a lawyer, a Louisiana prisoner and a strip club owner. Jan. 30BILOXI Novelist, journalist and television show host Dominick Dunne takes on Biloxis most notorious murder case Wednesday night on his Court TV show, Power, Privilege and Justice.. 8. He swore he hadnt killed Vincent or Margaret but had knowledge of the murders and would give details with the condition of immunity. Nix is still alive today, and is imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma. It was also the year that she was indicted in federal court for her role. . When the prosecution took the case before a grand jury, the indictments they asked for were for the Lonely Hearts scam, murder conspiracy, wire fraud and two counts of traveling in interstate commerce for murder to hire. He was an artist; he would paint pictures of us and for us, and he would make things. Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, were slain in their Biloxi home on Sept. 14, 1987, in a plot involving a lawyer, a Louisiana prisoner and a strip club owner. There are also fond memories of Mike Gillich who bought the chocolate Eason sold for her school. Peter Halat, a Biloxi attorney, maintained a trust account for Nix. One access was with Lara Sharpe who borrowed money on at least one occasion and told Nix who decided she did not need to enter the box. See United States v. Franklin, 148 F.3d 451, 459 (5th Cir.1998). As to the government knowingly presenting false testimony, reversal is required if it is shown that: (1) the testimony was false; (2) the testimony was material to the verdict; and (3) the prosecutor knew or believed the testimony to be false. As a result, the government did not prosecute Halat. Holcomb contends that the government did not have adequate evidence to convict him as the trigger man, so it used the RICO conspiracy charges and voluminous evidence unrelated to him to hold him guilty by association. To make the situation more enticing, Mr. Fabian said the inmates would enclose photographs of nude young men, saying the pictures were of themselves.

He stepped into the house briefly and then shouted for the neighbor to call the police. matlab app designer popup message female comedians of the 90s kalena ku delima sheri lara sharpe biloxi. At the direction of Nix, the scammers paid off guards in order to use the prison telephones. Bradford OKeefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi [] Advertisements Follow on Facebook United States v. Fisher, 106 F.3d 622, 632 (5th Cir.1997) (internal quotations omitted). He was trying to earn enough money to buy his way out of prison. 1503 (West 1984). The district court correctly admitted the testimony because both Holcomb's statements to Cook and Cook's statements to Gillich were admissible as statements of co-conspirators made in furtherance of the conspiracy. 404(b). United States v. Posada-Rios, 158 F.3d 832, 857 (5th Cir.1998). Rhodes testified further that he was out of town during the murders and that later Ransom told him that he had murdered the Sherrys. This record makes clear that a reasonable jury could have found that Sharpe's false testimony concerning Gillich's, Halat's, and her own involvement in the wire fraud and murder-for-hire scheme had the natural and probable effect of interfering with the due administration of justice. Nix, Gillich and Ransom were indicted for murder for hire, including aiding and abetting by traveling from Louisiana to Mississippi to arrange the murder, and murder for hire for traveling between Georgia and Mississippi. Things like that. Mike Gillich Jr. BILOXI, Mississippi -- Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease lounge owner who helped plot the 1987 Dixie Mafia murders of a judge and the judge's wife, has died. The defendants jointly moved for a mistrial prior to the district court individually questioning the jurors, and Sharpe again moved for mistrial when, at the end of the district court's questioning, the district court did not remove any jurors. The murders were set up by Biloxi striptease lounge owner Mike Gillich Jr., a friend to Halat and Sherry, and a longtime acquaintance of the Louisiana inmates. 403 provides that [r]elevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Holcomb offers nothing to rebut the district court's finding that the proffered testimony's prejudice to the other defendants substantially outweighed its probative value. Therefore, the obstruction counts are not multiplicious. For reprints, email [emailprotected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. After two years in prison, Gillich decided to talk and implicated Halat, who was convicted after a second trial in 1997 for participating in the conspiracy. He was later sentenced to life-long isolation because of this hit. The jury convicted Nix, Gillich, Sharpe, and Ransom of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Gillich was reportedly known and trusted by almost all members of the Dixie Mafia, earning the trust of those who trusted no one else. See United States v. McCarty, 36 F.3d 1349, 1353-55 (5th Cir.1994) (holding that admitting extrinsic evidence to corroborate the defendant's confession to a cellmate was not reversible error). We now have access to an enormous amount of additional research information Overt acts included homosexual scam activity in 1986 and 1988, money laundering activities,8 homosexual scam activity in 1986 and 1992, homosexual scam activity in 1985 and 1989. Additionally, the circumstances involved in Count 16 satisfy many of the criteria specified above. It took thorough investigative work and Mike Gillich Jr. telling all to take Halat down. Now, hell pay for it, Pier 15 opens with food, drink, entertainment and its own Biloxi River sand beach.

When things started going south and the trials started happening, I started feeling very threatened. The photos werent of themselves, but usually of beefcake pinups. There were times that we would walk home from school, and we would be filmed . This story was originally published January 17, 2023, 7:00 AM. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. All four defendants assert that Gillich's and Wright's testimony should have been suppressed, because the government criminally bribed them to testify as government witnesses. Nix and Halat complain that the district court mistakenly instructed the jury that the defendants acted knowingly if they deliberately closed [their] eyes to what otherwise would have been obvious. First, they contend that there was no evidence to support the instruction. The indictment charged Nix with racketeering, conspiracy to violate the racketeering statute, fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Sharpe argues that Count I4 of the 1991 indictment covered both the 1996 substantive obstruction of justice charges and the conspiracy to obstruct justice charge. Sheri LaRa Sharpe was released June 13, 2002, from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Fla., after serving five years for obstruction of justice. 25 Feb/23. In 1991, Sharpe was already in Louisiana state prison for wire fraud. There were a lot of really, really hard and difficult things that happened to myself and my sister in a lot of different ways simply by being LaRas daughter, Eason added. Vincent Sherry, a circuit court judge and law partner of eventual Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, was blamed for taking some of the money that was being funneled through the law firm from the scam. 2849, 125 L.Ed.2d 556 (1993). From the amount of blood around his body, detectives believed he had been alive when the killer went for Margaret. Motion for Mistrial Based on Jury Misconduct. Gillich insisted that Ransom was involved in the planning of the murders, but did not actually kill the Sherrys. After a lengthy trial, the jury began deliberations on July 11, 1997. WebSHERI LARA SHARPE, Defendant-Appellant. In 1991, Sharpe was already in Louisiana state prison for wire fraud. WebIn this criminal appeal, Defendants-Appellants LaRa Sharpe, Mike Gillich, Jr., Kirksey McCord Nix, and John Ransom appeal their convictions under 18 U.S.C. Gulfport basketball coach Owen Miller resigns, Two arrested in murder of missing Hinds County man, Louisiana couple accused of taking 2 year old from hospital arrested in Bay St. Louis, Coroner IDs man killed in Gautier shooting, police name wanted suspect, Hancock County parents keep kids home after middle school student threatens shooting, Authorities raid CBD stores in Hancock County, charge business owner with selling controlled substances. See 18 U.S.C.A. We find the defendants' due process claims to be without merit. BILOXI, Miss. The Supreme Court developed the Blockburger test, a rule of statutory construction triggered when the same conduct violates more than one statutory provision. The district court did not refuse to admit the letters but, rather, reserved its ruling on their admissibility. Finally, the indictment charged Holcomb with conspiracy to violate the racketeering statute and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Since Sharpe I new facts have come to light implicating Thomas Leslie Holcomb (Holcomb) and Peter Halat, Jr. (Halat) in the Sherrys' murder. [E]ven if we find an abuse of discretion in the admission or exclusion of evidence, we review the error under the harmless error doctrine. Id. The very case the defendants cite recognizes that there is no due process violation when new significant evidence comes to light that justifies a subsequent prosecution. In a WLOX interview in 1990, Sharpe said this about her children: If something happens to me, I want my daughters to know that I was trying to do the right thing. So in 1989 relatives of the Sherrys hired a private investigator, Rex Armistead, a former Mississippi Highway Patrol investigator who had helped put many Dixie Mafia members behind bars. Count 7 involves Sharpe's testimony that she did not use legal materials in Halat's and Sherry's office to enhance participation in the homosexual scheme. I want to just show people that kids are resilient and theyre strong and they can overcome the obstacles, Gilmer said. After the individual inquiries, the judge recalled all the jurors to the courtroom, and urged them to consider the evidence, to deliberate, and to act civilly. Please consult an expert before taking any action. Nix participated in multiple money making schemes after being locked away, including a lonely hearts scam aimed to swindle gay men. Margaret Sherrys murder was just a bonus and a precaution. at 1192-93. Gillich admitted that Halat was involved in the scams and the murders. The district court allowed Baylis and Putnam to testify that Holcomb also admitted to being arrested in Florida and shooting a snitch in Texas. There was no blood spray. Halat's acts of concealment, such as committing perjury, clearly were acts done in furtherance of the main criminal objectives of the conspiracies. We affirm if a rational trier of fact could have found all essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Then he went to a halfway house in Hattiesburg and worked as a handyman at an area church. Multiplicious Substantive Obstruction of Justice Charges. In Louisiana over the past year, a number of prison inmates, along with mob members and relatives on the outside, have been convicted of theft in the extortion scheme. It charged Sharpe with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice for false testimony she gave in the 1991 trial. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sheri Lara SHARPE, Defendant-Appellant. In December 1986, Halat told Nix and Gillich that approximately $100,000 of Nix's money was missing from the office trust account. 1489, 140 L.Ed.2d 728 (1998); Drake v. Kemp, 762 F.2d 1449, 1479 (11th Cir.1985). By Anita Lee, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. The local police investigated the murders for two years but didnt get anywhere, so the FBI came back in 1989. Police wondered if maybe a criminal that Vincent had sentenced was getting revenge on the judge. The district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting this evidence because it was admitted to show intent, motive, knowledge, opportunity, and method of operation. United States v. Blackburn, 9 F.3d 353, 357 (5th Cir.1993). See id. boxes for Nix to collect the scam cash and deposit it into the law firms trust account.