Prosecutor Getting Nervous in the Ryan Frederick Case

Submitted by smorgan on
…as well he should since Ryan Frederick is innocent and the whole thing is a colossal travesty. Radley Balko notes that the prosecution is hoping for a change of venue:

The special prosecutor in the case against Ryan Frederick, the Chesapeake man accused of killing a city detective, wants the murder trial moved out of the Hampton Roads area.

The commonwealth has urged the court for a change of venue from Chesapeake to a court elsewhere in the state. Frederick is to stand trial Jan. 20 in Chesapeake Circuit Court on charges of capital murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. [PilotOnline.com]


It’s a devious move, necessitated by the fact that a lot of folks in and around Chesapeake, VA know that Ryan Frederick didn’t do anything wrong. Police thought he was growing marijuana, but he wasn’t. When they raided his house, he thought he was being robbed and fired on the intruders, killing an officer that he didn’t realize was a cop. The marijuana growing operation they were looking for just wasn’t there and I’m still unclear on why they’re pursuing distribution charges for the tiny amount of pot found in his home.

Let’s hope the judge has the sense to see through this sham of a trial and blocks these pathetic efforts to gain leverage for charges that should never have been filed to begin with.

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Source URL: https://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2008/sep/03/prosecutor_getting_nervous_ryan