Kidnapping trial goes on without defendant
The trial for a Uniontown man charged with kidnapping and robbery went on Thursday in Fayette County — even though the defendant failed to show up for court.
Victor Tarpley, 32, is accused of kidnapping Kaleb Wood at gunpoint in Menallen Township on Aug. 24, 2010. Wood testified that Kathy Ann Bass, 22, had picked him up in Brownsville, and they planned to spend the evening together.
Wood testified Bass stopped her car near Searights, and Tarpley got in the vehicle and pointed a gun at him and told him not to move.
“I thought it was a joke,” Wood testified. “I’d never been in a situation like that for real.”
Eventually, they ended up at a home in Uniontown, Wood testified. There, he said he was bound with telephone wire and blindfolded.
On the stand, he was unable to identify the color of the gun used, but told jurors that there was a laser sight on it.
State police Trooper Scott Krofcheck alleged that Tarpley forced Wood to make multiple calls to his mother, brother and girlfriend to try and get money, and took $100 from Wood. Krofcheck also alleged that Tarpley shot Wood with a Taser gun.
Wood’s mother went to police, and authorities caught up to Tarpley, driving around. Wood was eventually able to get out of the car.
Tarpley faces charges of kidnapping, robbery, theft, unlawful restraint, simple assault, terroristic threats, possession of a firearm, fleeing and eluding police and criminal mischief.
In his closing remarks, Assistant District Attorney Douglas S. Sepic told jurors they should note Tarpley’s absence.
“A person’s true nature in life is revealed not by their words but by their actions,” he argued in his closing, telling that it could be construed as consciousness of guilt.
“Was he absent because he just didn’t want to show up or was he absent because he heard the bells ring? The bell was tolling for Victor Tarpley. … He knew his day soon was coming to an end,” Sepic said.
“It’s no secret here that the defendant’s not present,” Assistant Public Defender Thomas W. Shaffer said in his closing.
But he told jurors they still had to evaluate the evidence presented, and told them that there was no DNA linking Tarpley to the alleged crimes, nor were there fingerprints.
He noted that a videotape of Wood in the backseat of the car at a gas station showed no evidence that he tried to escape.
“I would just ask that you carefully consider all the evidence and return a fair and just verdict,” Shaffer said.
Sepic asked jurors to note that Wood called his mother multiple times over a 60- to 90-minute period, crying and asking for money.
“Do you think he’s going to drag his mother into something staged?” Sepic asked.
He noted that police saw that there was telephone wire still wrapped around Wood’s wrist when they saw him after he got away. He also noted that Wood testified Tarpley wore gloves, so there would be no fingerprints or DNA on the gun.
Sepic also told the panel that it stood to reason that Wood did not run away at the gas station.
“He was still concerned for his life. He was still concerned about the gun Victor Tarpley had on his lap,” Sepic said.
Jurors deliberated briefly before Judge Steve P. Leskinen sent them home for the day. They will return today to continue deliberations.