Attorneys file for new trial for Whitford
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POLSON — On April 22 District Court Judge James Manley heard arguments for a new trial for Makueeyapee Whitford, who was found guilty of deliberate homicide in the stabbing death of John Pierre, Jr., after a weeklong trial in December 2014.
According to court records, Whitford stabbed the 26-year-old Pierre to death at approximately 4 a.m. on March 16, 2013 in Polson, at a late night party where 50 to 80 people had gathered to drink, talk and listen to music.
Whitford’s attorneys Jennifer Streano and Peter Leander brought up several reasons why Whitford deserved a new trial, including the inability to interview Derek Hewankorn, an eyewitness to the crime, prior to the trial.
They called former Lake County Attorney Mitch Young to the witness stand during the hearing. Officers had taken Hewankorn’s statement the night of Pierre’s death, and then Hewankorn “kind of disappeared,” made it clear he was not interested in testifying and wanted nothing to do with the trial, Young said.
A material witness warrant was never issued because it would have alienated Hewankorn as a witness, according to Young. He said the County Attorney’s office contacted the Pierre family the week before the trial began and told them they needed Hewankorn’s testimony.
When Hewankorn showed up on the morning the trial began, the Lake County Attorney’s office immediately sent word to the defense, Young said.
Other reasons Streano and Leander gave for requesting a new trial include information on prior crimes that witness Magnus Harlow blurted out at the trial and a new statement witness Adrian Afterbuffalo came up with on the stand.
Young testified Afterbuffalo had given two or three statements, characterizing Afterbuffalo as someone who was not particularly law enforcement friendly.
“We got new information every time we talked to him,” Young said.
“The Supreme Court recognized there is no such thing as a perfect trial,” Attorney Daniel Guzynski from the State Attorney General’s office said.
Either the defense or the prosecution can ask for a material witness warrant, he added.
Current contact information was another issue for the defense, who argued they were not given reliable addresses and phone numbers for witnesses.
“We gave you the most accurate and latest information we had,” Young said, under questioning by Guzynski.
Another item Streano focused on was credibility.
“We have Derek Hewankorn’s version of the fight, and we have Makueeyapee Whitford’s,” Streano said.
“Derek Hewankorn’s credibility wasn’t touched. Makueeyapee Whitford’s was,” Streano said.
She also said it was “impossible” to consider Whitford’s act deliberate homicide and asked Judge Manley to consider a lesser charge. Whitford has been in Lake County Jail since March 16, 2013 and is scheduled for sentencing April 29. Judge Manley said he will consider the motion for a new trial, but it was unclear when he would make his decision.
