03-09-2007After slightly more than four hours of deliberation, a six-person jury found a Warsaw man guilty of possession of marijuana and resisting/fleeing law enforcement.
Thursday in Kosciusko Circuit Court, the four-woman, two-man jury returned with their guilty verdicts for Jerald Womack, 44, of Warsaw, around 3 p.m., but the trial was not finished.
Once the jury found Womack guilty of possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor, they learned that they had more work to do. Since Womack was convicted of a previous marijuana charge, the jury was asked to decided if this charge should be considered a felony.
According to Indiana law, if a person who is convicted of possession of marijuana has a previous charge involving marijuana, that person can be charged with a felony.
Warsaw Police Officer Bryan Sherwin testified that Womack had a previous conviction for possession of marijuana in 1999. Sherwin arrested Womack March 18, 1999, and Womack was convicted of the charge Dec. 14, 1999.
The jury was shown the judgment of conviction from the 1999 case and then sent to make a decision about the felony enhancement.
Within 11 minutes, the jury returned to the courtroom with a guilty verdict on the felony charge.
But the jury still was not finished.
Since Thursday’s conviction was Womack’s third, the jury was asked to decide whether he should be considered a habitual controlled substance offender.
Womack also had a conviction for dealing marijuana in Morgan County in 1993, and Morgan County Detective Jeffery C. Buskirk testified about Womack’s conviction.
After hearing about the Morgan County charge, the jury heard from Sherwin again. Sherwin repeated his testimony about Womack’s 1999 conviction.
When the jury was sent to deliberate a third time, they returned with a verdict in less than 10 minutes: Womack is a habitual controlled substance abuser.
Before the jury made its decision on the first charge, Womack took the witness stand to tell his side of the story.
Womack said on July 13, 2006, he had an argument with his girlfriend. After leaving his girlfriend’s house, Womack said he was heading to his home on Prairie Street. He was emotionally distraught and said he did not see the police car behind him with its lights on. He also said he did not hear the siren until he reached his house.
When he arrived at his house, Womack said he saw the officer and thought his girlfriend may have called the police, so he ran.
Womack said he decided to go to the woods to calm himself down and relax.
Although the jury found him guilty of resisting/fleeing arrest, they did not find Womack guilty of using a vehicle to resist/flee arrest. If they had, the charge would have been a Class D felony instead of a Class A misdemeanor.
After the jury’s final decision, Womack’s bond was revoked and he was remanded to the custody of the Kosciusko County Sheriff. Womack was ordered to appear in Kosciusko Circuit Court April 12 at 11 a.m. for sentencing.