After acquittal, no new leads in 2010 Cape shooting

EDITOR'S NOTE: The location where Ervin was shot has been corrected.

Although the state believes it tried the right person for a Cape Girardeau man's murder, the case remains open with no new leads.

Woody Ervin died after being shot twice near the intersection of Park Drive and North Fountain Street on June 26, 2010. Thomas D. Evans was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action but was acquitted of both charges Sept. 9. Evans had admitted to the killing after eight hours of police interrogation and had Ervin's blood on his shoes.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle contends Evans is the shooter but went free because he was unable to convince the jury of Evans' guilt.

"We prosecuted the right person," Swingle said. "We just couldn't convict."

Evans recanted his confession in court. His attorney, Daniel Moore, argued that investigators had coerced Evans to confess with tactics like poking his head and cornering him. He called the tactics almost as mentally taxing as waterboarding.

On the final day of the trial, Moore wanted to have Brandon King and Ollie Welch testify. King, who is in prison for assaulting a police officer, submitted a written statement to police July 1, 2010, alleging Welch shot and killed Ervin that night. Welch was subpoenaed but did not appear in court.

Judge Benjamin Lewis did not allow King to testify in front of a jury because of Chambers v. Mississippi, a Supreme Court case that prohibits hearsay evidence alleging someone else committed a crime.

Less than a week after Ervin's death, King submitted to police a one-page account of the night Ervin died and his encounter with Welch. In his account, Welch told him earlier in the night that he was going to kill someone later. A few hours after that conversation, Welch met King again and told him he had killed Ervin, he wrote.

"He told me he was a murderer," King testified with no jury present.

King's testimony and statement supported Evans' assertion that an unknown man emerged from the darkness and shot Ervin.

Despite King's testimony, Welch was never considered a primary suspect in the murder. Swingle said police tracked down Welch and found he had an alibi for that night.

"That was complete smoke and mirrors by the defense," Swingle said. "There was nothing to it."

Armster Robinson, who had sold Ervin cocaine shortly before he was shot, pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance and was sentenced to five years in prison, but a judge will maintain jurisdiction over Robinson for 120 days. After 120 days the judge will decide whether Robinson will stay in jail. Robinson exercised his Fifth Amendment right and did not testify during the trial.

With Evans' acquittal, Welch's alibi and Robinson's sentence, Swingle said there are no new leads in the case and it remains open.

Cape Girardeau police spokesman Darin Hickey declined to comment on the murder investigation.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Park Drive and North Fountain Street, Cape Girardeau