The Saga of Sarah Pender, Featured on Investigation Discovery Sept. 22, 9 P.M. Eastern

It’s been hard for the media to get it right on Sarah Pender. There have been erroneous reports that Larry Sells, the prosecutor who tried and convicted Pender of murder in 2002, was going to represent Sarah in a bid for freedom. A recent story noted that the Marion County, Indiana, prosecutor’s office has decided Pender does not deserve a new trial or consideration for a reduced sentence, despite Sells’ opinion that she did not receive a fair trial based on previously undisclosed evidence.

Marion County prosecutor Terry Curry said in that story, “I don’t doubt Larry’s sincerity in stating that but all we were presented with was a motion to modify the sentence.” That leaves the door open to more legal movement in the case, as Pender takes her hopes to the state Court of Appeals to ask for a second round of post conviction relief. 

Pender’s case will be featured on the Sept. 22 episode of Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall.  I was part of the taping. In advance of that show, here's an exclusive interview with Larry Sells.  

For 15 years, Larry Sells was the iron fist of the law in Marion County, Indiana, home of Indianapolis, ground zero for middle America.

As deputy prosecutor of homicides from 1991 to 2006, Sells put convicted murderers to death with creased-brow scorn.  He was a no bullshit guy, a rangy Marlboro Man lookalike who had done some modeling in his wild days before settling into a law career. His Southern fried accent and dramatic demeanor gave him great favor with juries.

Today he's 69 years old and has spent the last year in sleepless nights over a 23-year-old girl he put away on murder charges in 2002. He’s advocating on behalf of that young girl, Sarah Pender, who is serving her 110-year sentence in the Indiana Women’s Prison. Sells believes she didn’t get a fair trial.

His crusade began after reading a true crime book that revealed information that compromised his key witness in that case, a career criminal and jailhouse snitch named Floyd Pennington.

I wrote the book that changed Sells' mind, Girl,Wanted: The Chase for Sarah Pender, an Edgar award finalist in 2012.

On page 115 of that book is a graph that may eventually give Pender her freedom.

There was a problem with [Pennington’s] testimony and, in the rearview mirror, its impact on the jury. A letter discovered after the trial in the police file found that Pennington had offered to turn evidence on a list of people, from drug dealers to chop-shop owners. He named names on a yellow legal pad in his own writing. But the list was never presented by the defense during Sarah’s trial.

The letter was a snitch list I found in the homicide file.  It had never been seen by anyone outside the investigation, including the defense.

“Just some top-notch dope dealers I’m close to and can get in and make sells for and bust them…” Pennington notes in the handwritten list.

 “That letter should have been given to the defense and I never even saw it,” Sells told me in a phone call in mid-2012, when he admitted it had stuck in his mind since he had reread the book earlier that year. “If that had been introduced to the jury, it would have made a huge difference on the impact of the testimony of the key witness, that of Floyd Pennington. She did not have a fair trial.”

Pender was an unsympathetic character. A former engineering student at Purdue, she had been part of a bloody double homicide on the city’s south side. The two victims, Andrew Cataldi, 25, and Tricia Nordman, 26. were found shot to death in a Dumpster, their hair matted with dried blood. Pender and her boyfriend, Richard Hull, were arrested. Until the murder on October 24, 2000, the victims, Hull and Pender had been roommates and business partners. They moved pot, meth and acid out of the two-bedroom house they shared.

But when some money got funny, Cataldi and Nordman wound up dead and Hull and Pender blamed each other for the shootings.  Who pulled the trigger? Only those four knew for sure, and two of them weren’t breathing.

Helped by the testimony of Pennington, who testified in court that Sarah confessed to her role in the murders to him while both were in a jailhouse infirmary, Pender was sentenced to 110 years.

Pender was sent to state prison, where she remained until August 2008, when she escaped. For 136 days, Pender lived in relative freedom, meeting and being romanced by a man, working a regular job at a construction contractor in Chicago, living in an apartment in Rogers Park.

She was captured that December and returned to prison.

Even during her time on the run, Sells was convinced she had been rightfully convicted, calling her “the female Charles Manson” for her ability to convince others to do her felonious bidding.

Now, Sells talks about his change of heart and how the woman he so enthusiastically put away for the rest of her life needs to be let out of prison.

Steve Miller: The common joke is that prisons are full of innocent people – just ask the inmates. How common is something like this in the justice system, in which evidence that could influence a jury never comes to light?

Larry Sells: If a book were written about every case and the author was as thorough as in this book, there would be more things found. There are convictions set aside, of course. But usually it’s the defense that ferrets that out.

Steve Miller: You called me around June of last year to tell me that there was a major problem with the case and that justice was not served in Sarah’s trial. But you knew about that document, Pennington’s snitch list, since 2009, when I asked you about it.

Larry Sells: I didn’t look at the list very long although when I did, I thought, ‘Damn, why didn’t I have this back then in 2002?’ It really affects the credibility of Pennington. He was a shady witness then, as all jailhouse witnesses are. But by 2009 I was no longer a prosecutor. I retired in 2006. I still had a prosecutor mindset but I wasn’t in the office where I could do anything about it. When I reread it, it became crystal clear to me that this letter destroyed Pennington’s credibility. I had to do something. Yes, I saw the list, but when you see it described in writing, it makes more of an impact.

Steve Miller: What was your first move to make this right?

Larry Sells: I got hold of Sarah’s mom, Bonnie, it was the Friday before Mother’s Day. I told her, ‘you know Bonnie, it’s my opinion that Sarah didn’t get a fair trial and I will do what I can to help.’  When she realized I wasn’t pulling her leg and I was who I said I was, she burst into tears.

Then I called Sarah’s lawyers and told them what I thought. Then I got a call from the prosecutor’s office, which had heard through Sarah’s lawyers about my opinion. He was pretty attentive to what I had to say. Then I got a call from the sentence modification committee at the prosecutor’s office, and we met. We looked at the document, and at first, they were thinking this is no big deal, it’s simply impeaching evidence. When I ran my opinions by them, though, their opinions started changing. I’ve been interviewed by the Marion County prosecutor’s office. Sarah’s lawyers are pushing forward. Now things are up to the system.

Steve Miller: So is Sarah Pender an innocent person who has served all this time?

Larry Sells: I thought she was guilty before any testimony. I thought she was a dangerous person. She has expressed a couple of times that it didn’t bother her that her roommates were brutally murdered. I can’t say what her role in the shooting was, but based on this letter and the fact that her attorney didn’t have this document deprived Sarah of a fair trial.  I am still not convinced of her innocence. But that doesn’t factor in to what I believe about her case. I had to come forward because it’s the right thing to do. I had to do it as a lawyer and a human being. My conscience wouldn’t let me do otherwise.

          

Journalism - Always the Best Fallback

I’ve had a couple of journalism pieces hit in the past two weeks as I worked the promo for the book, Detroit Rock City, which has done much better than I expected. As I told someone before it came out, ‘I read it, liked it and maybe a couple dozen other people will.’  Appeal seems to be a little wider than that. I take that as a good sign, although I have no idea of what composes success in broad terms. Getting published is a success in some camps.  Acceptance has always dulled my senses, and staying in the outsider camp feels right at all times. It was a huge coup to me when I started work at the Dallas Morning News. It was as if the inmate was allowed to be part of the staff at the asylum.

The journalism I mentioned is a story I did out of Florida on the state House Speaker Will Weatherford, who didn’t disclose some business relationships because he didn’t have to. Now that sounds like a non-story, but it was prompted by a story earlier in the year I read about his finances, in which he was weirdly vague about what he did for a living, outside of his role in the part-time Florida legislature.

I began to dig about the same time another reporter did, as we both had a reader in our ear questioning Weatherford’s finances. His piece came first, in July.  It was good, but I read it several times and still didn’t think everything was out there.

Some close to the story think it was a tipster who steered me toward the story. But it was pure instinct after that second story that led me to search business filings in Texas – which is where Weatherford has some roots – and find he was connected to an insurance adjuster who did business with the state of Florida’s insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance.

Next was a story for the Fort Worth Weekly on the Tarrant Regional Water District, a government agency that gave me an amazingly hard time in spring 2012 when I asked to look over copies of the district’s campaign finance reports for the last few year. My suspicions were aroused and I filed an open records request for a number of items, including emails that indicated a lot of inside favor dealing among a power structure in Fort Worth. Much of those records formed the basis of this story.

For most readers, this is dull shop talk. But I dig it and there you go.  More books, I’m sure, will roll along and that’s what so many people are into. I enjoy writing the articles every bit as much as the books.

These Bars Never Seem to Close, Although it Wouldn’t Be Bad if They Did

It’s not like you couldn’t see this one coming, but Black Flag founder and guitarist Greg Ginn has filed a lawsuit against a number of his former bandmates, including Henry Rollins and Keith Morris, seeking compensation and a restraining order to prevent a band of former Black Flaggers – and a drummer - from continuing their current tour.

The federal action alleges Rollins, noted in the filing by his legal name of Henry Garfield, and Morris have fraudulently applied for a trademark of the Black Flag logo, knowing that Ginn has full rights to use of the four black bars, referred to in the action as “marks,” among other things.

“Garfield and Morris falsely claimed they were the owners of the marks and had continuously used the marks since 1978,” Ginn claims in his petition, which also names former Flag members Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, and Bill Stephenson for various alleged copyright infringements.

Ginn accuses the current band that includes Morris, Cadena, Dukowski and Stephenson, touring under the name “Flag,” of willful trademark and service infringement. Ginn is touring with former Black Flag singer Ron Reyes as Black Flag. Both bands are playing songs written by Ginn for Black Flag.

On its face, it seems Ginn has a pretty good case; these other guys are swimming in the guitarist’s wake.

For the life of me I can’t see the merit in seeing either version of this band. Isn’t that how bands like Grand Funk or Great White got into each other’s shit, with this ridiculous name change game?

What is more interesting is that Rollins and Morris teamed up in September to get the Black Flag trademark, pointedly to sell clothing with the Black Flag logo, which is where the real money is if Urban Outfitters has anything to say about it.  If I were Ginn, I would be genuinely pissed.

“Garfield and Morris falsely claimed they were the owners of the marks and had made continuous use of the marks in commerce since 1978,” Ginn states in the suit, referring to the trademark filing.  Then there is this, which alleges that  that Rollins has or had a hand in the merch being sold by Flag.

“…Based upon statements made by counsel for Garfield and Morris in response to office counsel action [regarding their trademark application for the Black Flag bars], Garfield either intends to join in the infringing activities of the other defendants, or has already done so, with regard to the manufacture of items of clothing with the marks.”

Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter for picking up the court filing.

Nobody’s Women Found Among Possessions of Newly Discovered Cleveland Serial Killer?

Michael Madison charged today

 Michael Madison, and his neighbors, are reportedly chattering about a fascination with Anthony Sowell, whose crimes I chronicled in a book last year, Nobody’s Women: The Crimes and Victims of Anthony Sowell.

The first thing I wondered was if he had simply followed the Sowell case via the local media, which did a terrific job, or if he had read one of the two books about his supposed inspiration. I’d like to know when law enforcement releases the evidence list. If I were there, I would ask the cops. Yes, I am curious.

Madison, 35, born in New Castle, Penn., lived a mile from the East Cleveland home in which Sowell grew up. He had three felony drug charges over the years in Cuyahoga County before being popped for attempted rape. Madison pleaded guilty and got four years with 121 days credit for time served.

The first victim was identified as Angela Deskins, 38, who had

a host of driving violations and little else. Police are still seeking information on the other two victims, and fear there are more. Like the remains of most of Sowell’s 11 victims, they were wrapped in trash bags.

The urge is to ask what’s up with Cleveland, where in May it was discovered that former school bus drive Ariel Castro kept three women hostage in his home for up to a decade.  Lumping these three cases together is irresistible for most of the media – you know, what is it about the city? A story with little to hold it together save for a batch of “soul searching” quotes.

It’s ridiculous to blame the usual inner city woes, as Cleveland doesn’t have that market cornered.  That would be just another money grab excuse for race hustlers. It’s perhaps more of an indictment of the justice system in Ohio. I’m no authority on that system at this point, but it’s certainly the first stop in any investigation I would do.

More News From Nowhere – Sarah Pender’s Legal Team Continues Push for Her Freedom

The lawyer for Sarah Pender has filed a petition with the Marion County Prosecutor’s office in hopes of getting her client sprung. The motion includes an affidavit signed by Larry Sells, the man who prosecuted Pender for a double homicide in 2002. Pender received 110 years.

If you’re here, you are aware of the legal debacle. I outline it here, using an article by the local newspaper in Indy, the Indianapolis Star. The town is blowing up over this story, which has received only local coverage so far. But when Pender is released, the cameras will swoop in from everywhere. 

Detroit Rock City: I’ll Read it to You, Produced by Mike E Clark

Mike Clark in studio

 The audio book version of Detroit Rock City hits today, and it was a cool trip.

I spent a few days recording it with Mike E Clark at his Electric Lab Recordings – north and south.  We did a couple days at his place in Detroit, then moved north for a weekend to his compound/studio north of Saginaw.

Who the hell wrote this?

I narrated the thing, all ten-plus hours, even though people told me what an ordeal it was and how difficult it could be. What happened was my agency sold the audio rights to Audible.com, which does many of the books on CD you see in the store. When the contract arrived, I looked it over and thought I’d like to hear who would be reading it. Pretty standard. Then I thought, ‘well, I can read and this might be fun.’ So I had a clause put in the contract that I be allowed to audition.  A few weeks later, I made the grade, much to my surprise. It’s good, honest work, pays well, and I’m always up for work. It’s now here for download. Dig in.

Insider Comments on/from Detroit Rock City

This is the t-shirt. Why not?

Detroit Rock City is out and there are stories in there that my pal and fellow traveler Tim Caldwell has picked up on and carried away. He writes stories fed by experience and knowledge – which only occasionally are mutually exclusive – in a stream-of-brain feed fashion. All readable and filled with insight. Try this:

did jack/joker bob 'the knob/blob' madigan 

de-throne the king of shock rock alice cooper 

when he approached the rock star with a vial containing 

an aborted human fetus and asked him to autograph it?

{to his credit (!?) i believe ac did sign the dead baby jar}.

  would this mean the man known for inventing shock rock theatrics 

held onto the title or thereby passed it onto 
a hard core gg allin fan 
mainly known for hooking up folks to a hand crank generator 

& giving the chain of hand holding fools 
in audience a collective jolt,

his human ostrich side show talent of swallowing and regurgitating items,

and fronting bands (slaughterhouse/cum dumpster)
that made flipper sound like speed freaks

in comparison?

best,

t

   when one of madigan's hooligan 

band members let it be known

they were going to gift me 
with a fetus/embryo 

i responded while one one level 
i could appreciate

the inverse logic / symbolic gesture 
of an unborn 

gifted as a birthday present

i graciously had to decline the offer

as in good conscience 
could not accept the gift

unless the proud folks who conceived it 

were the givers...

In the book, the great band Slaughterhouse gets a mention – vocalist Bob Madigan’s love of pig porn, specifically – so that is the Bob that Tim refers to. The band was always surrounded by fringe players who should have all become famous in one way or another. More from Tim:

was thinking about madigan's band c.d. (appropriate acronym if i ever heard one) after re-reading drc. their second best show* i saw was at the red door after hours (former club house space). the band and a good portion of the audience were tripping. rachel nagy and cara lundgren (daughter of grande ballroom artist carl) were still like 17-19 yr old strippers (at silver cricket on mich by telegraph among other venues**). 
they both roomed at the monroe manor next to bronx bar.

the gals were 1/2 to nearly naked while the band cum dumpster 

played their heavy dirges (to my mind sounding like a slower version 

of that groaning/droning vanilla fudge beatles cover) .

they were psychedelic style body painting each other.
there was dim lighting, maybe a strobe and gelled can or two,
as one could thereby create moody atmosphere on the cheap.

the ladies also cavorted in the shower with a large glass door 
situated in the middle of the room.

that figured in their dance/grope fest perf ,too.

steve shaw and joe s. took photos.

 

Then he refers to chatter in the book from a couple of players.

nawara and livingstone were right in their assessments 
of the excruciating power of the band to instill fear n loathing.

their credo seemed to have been borrowed from flipper-

  we suffered for our art/

now it's your turn.

{max bummer stoner rock- the cheech & chong routine shtick
about playing black sabbath at 16 rpm.s on 'cid & seeing god
or satan in their case}

  rachel used to be a butcher so her mentioning the stiletto 

in a dudes crotch would've been a serious threat.

dress em out like a thanksgiving turkey

and stuff their giblets in maw.

have you ever witnessed up close that mischievous/

maniacal glint in her eyes?

  the cobras second performance was at the old miami

after a dally in the alley.

i showed a sound 16mm film clip of bessie smith 
before the band went on.

that would set the bar pretty high intimidating many people 
but not rachel & co.

when i complimented her on her performance she said

'yeah tim, you see i'm not just a whhhooooorrreee'

cracking me up.

she's a great performer,
a classic beauty,
sweetheart who'd as soon kiss ya 
as spit on ya 
&/or stick ya.***

   the timmy v. mention of her having mooned the audience and writing on cheeks

made me recall the post wedding reception (kev monroe) party 

of  at the euclid tavern in spudville,oh.

the cobras performed and she grabbed zoot's mgr. aaron anderson 
and jammed his face in her ass (with clothes on) whilst on all 4's onstage.

at the end of the night it was the detroiters dressed in wedding formal finery vs

the local yokels territorial stand off.

And finally, Tim refers to a point in the book in which John Brannon talks about living near Michael Davis from the MC5 in Ann Arbor.

 

that chick that lived with hyenas on platt road 
that went out with mike davis was real odd.

weird passive aggressive dead pan vibe.

she had blunt cut bangs a long ass dark mane 
and wore a bullet belt like her dishonorably discharged 
guitar army/ trans love beau. 
pretty sure she was in a band called dog soldier.

larissa and john were annoyed that she kept a dead pet parrot 
or parakeet in the freezer.
through winter ,spring and summer
refusing to plant it.

The best thing about getting anything from Tim is that it’s true, no need for embellishment. He’s part of Detroit Rock City with an eye for reality, and likely has more stories than anyone.