BY KATHY MELLOTT
BEDFORD — A judge could rule as soon as today on a request that the statement of a man – not the defendant – claiming he killed an Everett area woman not be admissible at Joseph W. Clark’s retrial.
Additionally, Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins said Thursday that Clark’s attorney should not be allowed to take the witness stand should federal inmate David Lucas refuse to testify.
Higgins is trying to fend off a repeat of a convoluted day in the first Clark trial four months ago.
Lucas refused to testify, so Thomas Crawford took the stand to tell the jury what the inmate told him of Lucas’ supposed involvement in the murder of Holly Notestine.
“The law says you can’t be a witness and an advocate in the same proceeding,” Higgins said of events in the first trial.
“I don’t care if Lucas comes in and testifies. But if he refuses, I don’t think Crawford should be allowed to tell the jury what Lucas supposedly told him.”
It was unclear Thursday if Lucas will testify in the upcoming trial, which is expected to begin around June 16 in Bedford County.
Higgins has maintained that Lucas played no role in the murder and is not a credible witness.
Lucas, 34, a Huntingdon County native serving a 34-year sentence for armed robbery, testified in the first Clark trial that he killed Notestine.
He then repeatedly took the Fifth Amendment despite being granted immunity from prosecution for any involvement.
Clark, 49, faces a second capital murder trial in the April 30, 2000, kidnapping and murder of Notestine, a 25-year-old mother of two who lived on a dairy farm near Clark’s home.
Following a three-week trial including six days of deliberations earlier this year, a Butler County jury said it was deadlocked. Judge Daniel Howsare ordered a new trial.
In a defense motion, Crawford is asking the judge to dismiss all of the charges because Clark already went through a trial and the judge should not have declared a mistrial.
“We’re asking to dismiss because of double jeopardy,” Crawford said Thursday.
Higgins said he felt Howsare did all he could to get a verdict from the jury, but stopped when a final polling of each juror showed an impasse and further deliberations would not help.
“You tell a jury they have to reach a verdict, that can be a big problem,” Higgins said.
Howsare twice instructed the jury to return to deliberations when they appeared unable to reach a verdict.
Jury selection for Clark will begin June 9. The jury will be chosen in Dauphin County because of publicity in the case.
The selection process is expected to take about a week.
