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Published: October 31, 2009 12:34 am
COURTS: Polley case headed to trial
Niagara Gazette
LOCKPORT — It appears virtually certain that accused murderer John Polley will take his case to a jury in early January.
At a hearing in Niagara County Court on Friday, Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza denied requests by Polley’s attorney for subpoenas for documents held by the District Attorney’s office and Falls Police. The judge did, however, supply the defense with certain grand jury materials they had sought.
Sperrazza set a Jan. 5 final pre-trial hearing in the case and said jury selection for a trial will begin on Jan. 11. That date is the one year anniversary of the slaying of Julia Polley.
John Polley, 66, 337 78th St., has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest. Falls Police investigators have said that a day of drinking and “play” with a loaded handgun lead to his wife’s death.
Polley called 911 just before 10 p.m. on Jan. 11 and told an operator he had “accidentally shot his wife.”
Transcripts of the 911 call between Polley and a police lieutenant show that when he was asked what had happened, Polley responded, “We were (expletive) around with a handgun and Julia’s dead.”
Defense attorney Joseph LaTona was seeking the subpoenas because he wanted more information about a reported “firebombing” of Polley’s 78th Street home in July. LaTona has suggested relatives of the victim may be suspects in the case and said he says he wants to argue to a jury that his client has been the target of a “campaign” and “political pressure” to convict him of murder.
The defense lawyer has said an Internet petition put up by Julia Polley’s family, reportedly seeking “justice” in the case, and other acts, led prosecutors to “overcharge” his client.
Police sources confirm that Polley’s house was the target of two Molotov cocktails over the summer, but said there was no significant damage to the home.
Assistant District Attorney Claudette Caldwell, the lead prosecutor on the case, says LaTona “has a right to argue the case is overcharged based on the evidence before the (trial) jury, but not on what (the grand jury did).”
LaTona had sought to force Niagara County District Attorney Michael Violante to testify at the trial. Violante represented John Polley when he and his wife divorced.
The divorce was an uncontested “no fault” proceeding.
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