NORWICH – Almost a year to the day after George Ford Jr. pleaded not guilty in the death of 12-year-old Shyanne Somers, pretrial hearings began in Chenango County Court Monday.
Broome County Judge Joseph Cawley gave defense attorney Randel Scharf one week to submit a memorandum of law to list evidence he wants suppressed for trial. Within the next 60 days, the judge will decide on the motions and a trial date will be set for October or November.
Ford, 42, of Piscataway, N.J., has been incarcerated at the Chenango Correctional Facility since July 8, 2007. Initially charged with felony reckless endangerment following the death of his Otselic Valley baby-sitter, Shyanne A. Somers, Ford was later charged with second degree murder. Ford had said he accidentally ran over the girl while showing her horses on Will Warner Road in Otselic. Ford had contracted Somers to babysit his child, but when her services weren’t needed, he said he was taking her home when the accident occurred. Inconsistencies in testimony and later evidence led police to believe Ford ran the girl over intentionally.
Witnesses were questioned Monday to establish a crime timeline, about evidence collected, inconsistencies in Ford’s statements and how the investigation was handled by law enforcement officials.
District Attorney Joseph McBride called five witnesses to the stand. Christopher Rotundo, a police officer for the City of Norwich, was the first officer to respond at 4:55 a.m. July 8 at Chenango Memorial Hospital.
Rotundo said he was met by hospital security who told him the incident involved a “hit and run type accident” where a young female had been killed. Rotundo said he approached a large white truck pick-up truck with New Jersey license plates to find a young female victim’s body still inside.
Chenango County Sheriff’s personnel including Detective Sgt. Richard M. Cobb, Lieutenant James E. Lloyd, Detective Sgt. John Fern and Chenango County Sheriff Thomas Loughren were also called to the stand.
Inconsistencies in the statements given by Ford based on physical evidence found at the scene during the investigation were said by law enforcement officials to “not match up,” leading to the murder accusation.
Cobb, who spent the majority of the following day with Ford, said he was the one who retrieved the Global Positioning System (GPS), a key piece of evidence for the prosecution, from the Sheriff’s Department’s garbage, where Ford allegedly tried to dispose of it.
Fern verified the GPS from the truck belonged to Cindy Ford, the defendant’s wife. The technology shows where and how fast Ford was driving when the crime occurred. Fern testified that Cindy Ford came to the South Otselic sheriff’s substation. “She said she placed it under the passenger seat in her husband’s truck because she thought he was having an affair,” said Fern.
“She said the software needed to download the information was in her New Jersey home. She called her sister and the software was going to be taken to the police station in Piscataway and relayed here,” said Fern. Instead, the detective said he believed Cindy Ford’s brother-in-law or sister transported the software and CD to the Sheriff’s station July 8.
“Isn’t it true that the receipt given out at the Sheriff’s department was written out to Joseph Mostowski, a Piscataway police officer?” asked Scharf. “Yes, to Mostowski, Cindy’s brother-in-law,” confirmed Fern.
“Why was a search and seizure waiver not filled out for the evidence?” asked Scharf, citing his client’s fourth amendment rights. “It wasn’t needed,” said Fern, who said Cindy Ford owned the unit and it was she who made the call to relatives to locate the software.
Other inconsistencies addressed in court included the statements given by Ford. “In my opinion, I don’t think horses are ever there. I don’t know how anyone thinks they can see horses at midnight in the dark,” said Sheriff Loughren, addressing Ford’s contention that he had stopped to show Ms. Somers his horses that night when the accident occurred.
What happened in the hours between midnight and 5 a.m. were brought up by several witnesses. “I asked him why he didn’t call 9-1-1 or go to a nearby house to call,” said Loughren. “He said he had no cell phone service, he was in shock and did not want to return home because that was already a bad situation.” Loughren said he asked the defendant how many times he tried to call 9-1-1 from his cell phone, and Ford said he hadn’t.
McBride said Ford stated he had been drinking since noon the day of the accident. “Have you ever heard of anyone avoiding law enforcement officials for a period of time when they think they could be tested for alcohol in their system?” McBride asked Lt. Lloyd. “I have,” answered Lloyd. McBride also said Ford confirmed he had done cocaine in the days prior as well as marijuana, but had done no drugs the day of Shyanne’s death.
“Ford’s alcohol level was 0.01 percent. That is the lowest a person can test besides testing zero percent,” said Scharf. “Would you say he had enough to drink in a matter of 12 hours to make him drunk?”
“He said he had eight drinks in 11 hours. In my 19 years of doing this, I tend to think people minimize what they have actually consumed,” said Lloyd.
Tire marks and physical evidence found at the scene show inconsistencies with Ford’s original statements, law enforcement officers testified. Cobb said tire marks matching Ford’s truck were found at an abandoned residence near the crime scene and there was a hypodermic needle there as well.
At the scene, Lloyd said he thought Ford’s story didn’t make sense. “His account of the incident and the way I saw it, it just didn’t add up,” said the lieutenant. “The tire marks indicated the defendant was coming down the hill, not going up the hill as he said.”