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For the record, the following are "personal notes or personal observations" by an Internet posters attending the Linda Arndt Civil Trial in 2001. This information was either posted on the ACandyRose Internet Subculture Public Forum or permission was given for the information to be copied from the Justice Watch Forum to be "shared" for the Internet community following the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. All postings are based on personal opinion and observations of the individual posters.
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Posted on the ACandyRose Forum
JonBenet Ramsey Folder - JTColfax, your world is waiting :-)
From: TOADLOAD 5/31/2001 9:17 pm
To: ACandyRose (11 of 64)
827.11 in reply to 827.5
Okay, here's the witness list as best as I can remember.
1. Larry Mason - former supervisor of Linda Arndt. Mason was removed from the case early on for allegedly leaking. Later he was exonerated. Seems more like a Wallmart security guard than a seasoned police officer.
2. Linda Arndt's brother. He reported the bad news to Linda because she was too emotionally distressed by the alleged false media reports to read them for herself.
3. Super Police Officer Peas - Linda Arndt's training officer on the BPD. He's a very likable guy on the witness stand.
4. Mr. French, an attorney in private practice in Boulder since about 1966. He met Arndt through his wife who is involved in some sort of rape victim assistance program. He tried to assist Arndt in some discussions with COMMANDER Elor about Arndt's return to the force after her leave a absence due to burn out.
The long and short of it is that Linda Arndt feared for her personal safety as a result of Team Ramsey, and the PBD brass didn't support her. These witnesses were called on behalf of the plaintive, Arndt.
They all stated she was a fine person and an excellent police woman who was emotionally damaged from her involvement in the Ramsey case.
From: TOADLOAD 5/31/2001 10:24 pm
To: ACandyRose (15 of 64)
827.15 in reply to 827.13
I forgot witness 1b. Larry Mason's wife, named something like "Ceci" or Cleo.
Okay, now for some details.
Larry Mason was on one of the early trips to Atlanta, and when he got back, he was blind sided by Kolbe and Eller. He was accused of leaking information to the press, and Kolbe and Eller suspended him, taking away his badge, keys, and gun. It sort of slipped out during his testimony that Steve Thomas was spying on him and Steve was reporting Mason's conduct to Eller. At any rate the accusations of leaking were latter discovered to be false, and he was reinstated, but he was very upset because while his firing was widely reported, he did not receive a public apology from Kolbe for almost a year after the false allegations and suspension.
His wife had written some letter to Kolbe allegedly purporting to tell the truth of what had happened. The defense (Kolbe's miserable team) objected to the letter being admitted as evidence, but the judge had a side bar and redacted it to a point where it could be admitted.
Apparently the plaintiff had wanted to introduce 96 items of evidence, but the defense had objected to all 96 items. This caused confusion about "the foundation" for the evidence and it pissed the judge off, because it was wasting a lot of court time. He told the councils for each side to get together and work it out over the noon hour because he wasn't going to sit there and listen to foundation arguments for days on end.
It seemed to me that Arndt's lead attorney is inexperience and lacks a working game plan. The defense objects to almost everything he tries to present. The judge seems to be leading him along by telling him what step he needs to take next to follow the rule of law in a court of law.
But it's not all bad because the observers (jurors) probably feel sympathetic to the weaker side. Plus the defense is constantly objecting to the point of ridiculousness and it's tending to distress the judge because he over rules many of the objections and admonishes the attorneys that he doesn't want to waste the juror's time on matters that could have and should have been worked out before trial.
From: TOADLOAD 5/31/2001 11:19 pm
To: TOADLOAD (17 of 64)
827.17 in reply to 827.15
Actually I have some more thoughts on Mason. My best guess is that Kolbe and Eller wanted him off the JBR case because I suspect they saw him as a plodder. He didn't always seem to understand the defendant's council's questions. He also seem to have some difficulty in expressing himself and found it difficult to find the right word to frame his response. He was Arndt's direct evaluating supervisor yet he didn't know that Arndt was qualified as a firearms instructor for the BDP. Arndt apparently was also a Swat team member along with Mason, but Mason didn't know that. He didn't seem real clear on what was necessary to become a firearms instructor or a Swat team member. Nevertheless he gave Arndt outstanding above average evaluations during the time he supervised her.
From: TOADLOAD 5/31/2001 11:29 pm
To: TOADLOAD (18 of 64)
827.18 in reply to 827.16
Arndt's brother is probably a bit older than Linda. I think he said there are five siblings in all. He is an elementary school teacher probably somewhere around Franktown. He has a 4/5 combination class. He is a good looking guy who resembles Linda a bit. He has two children, which the defense objected to - (not relevant to the case). I think that objections may have been sustained. He seems very honest and forthright. He didn't seem to be concealing anything. The defense tried to press him that the only thing he really knew about the case was hearsay, or what Linda had told him. The defense council is Johnny Cochran slick and tends to lead the witnesses. I told Arndt's brother in the elivator that he had done a good job with his testimony, but that he should have stated that, "he didn't know" more often. I felt he tended to agree with the defense council on matters that in my mind weren't proven. He might have been better off to say, "I haven't seen any evidence of that."
From: TOADLOAD 5/31/2001 11:58 pm
To: TOADLOAD (19 of 64)
827.19 in reply to 827.18
The judge: He seems fair and very concerned about the time and well being of the jury. He seems to be doing the best he can to help Arndt's lead attorney along. He doesn't say much, but when he does, he speaks with authority and he is clear and articulate. He doesn't want any funny business from either of the two councils.
The Jury: It is composed of eight persons in all - six females, and two males. The two males are on the younger side around age 30 I suppose. There is one black female, one somewhat older lady with white hair, one fat overweight lady who like to lay back and take a cat nap during the side bars. She seems to have a good personality though and caught my eye during one of the crazy objections of the defense council. We both had a look of disbelief. The rest of the females are more or less non discript pre-middle-agers. The older lady seems to listen very attentively.
The clerk: She announces the entrance of the jury and we all stand. Like JT, I want to shout out, "open your hymnals to page 338." The clerk sits behind a computer, and she carries the single book of evidence around to the attorneys. They only have one book, and the judge ordered the councils to provide more and one for the jury.
The court reporter: She's on the overweight side and sits up front. Sometimes she doesn't hear what's being said due to no fault of her own. It was to do with the defense council jumping the gun in my opinion.
Beckner: Looks beady eyed and not really trust worthy.
Kolbe: Looks like a frat rat that would be happier with a keg of beer. He seems to know that whatever happens, it isn't going to look good for him. He is suffering through the testimony.
Public observers: It's hard to figure out who is who. Boulder county has some of their people in the audience and I think some defense council is sitting there too. Linda Arndt has a somewhat dykey fan club up on the left hand side. Linda looks good, but she has a wedding type ring on her left hand, but is referred to by the defense council as Mizz Arndt.
I probably look as weird as anyone there as I rode my bike. I wore blue jeans as sometimes they won't let you in the courtroom with shorts on. I was wearing a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a T-shirt with the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a on the front. (Hawaii state fish). I had a polo a shirt with collar on it in my little back pack should it have been required. I had the bottom right leg of my jeans taped with masking tape so that it wouldn't get caught in the bike chain, not having a true pants clip.
JT: If he was there, I don't know what he looks like.
Frank Coffman: He may have been there. I don't know. Perhaps he is dying his hair now.
Modem Buttfly: I thought she might be there with her older husband, but it turned out to be the mom and dad of Arndt's lead attorney.
Andt's female council: She's the best one there. She is extremely articulate and well spoken. She does an outstanding job of questioning a witness.
Edited 6/1/01 12:51:55 AM ET by TOADLOAD
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Edited 6/1/01 12:53:09 AM ET by TOADLOAD
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 12:09 am
To: TOADLOAD (20 of 64)
827.20 in reply to 827.19
Master Policeman Peas: As I said before he is a McCloud looking and dressing guy who has the same likable personality on the stand. He has 30 years of experience on the force, and trains new police officers for the BDP. He trained Linda and said that she was an excellent trainee, and was the type of person who would always go the extra mile. She was particularly good with female rape victims. He is a police union shop steward and attended some meetings with Kolbe and Eller. He felt she was in physical danger and professional jeopardy, and that Kolbe and Eller should have done more to support her under the circumstances. At some point it was brought out by the defense council that Linda had stated in one of the meetings with Kolbe and Eller that John Ramsey was trying to "Mind fuck her." That's an exact quote and is part of the court transcript. The defense council representing the BPD keep trying to get it into evidence that it was John Ramsey that Linda has afraid of. There did seem to be some agreement at least that Linda felt in physical danger but the best that they could get into the record that it was because of interaction with "Team Ramsey."
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Edited 6/1/01 12:54:40 AM ET by TOADLOAD
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 12:15 am
To: TOADLOAD (21 of 64)
827.21 in reply to 827.20
Leaks and Gag Orders
One of the themes of the trial seems to be that Kolbe had issued an extreme gag order on the entire department. Only he, Eller, or Leslie Ahomes was allowed to speak to the media. Apparently the gag order was so severe, the police didn't even want to talk to one another. So it ended up that the right hand didn't know what the left had was doing and was afraid to ask. There seemed to be leaks everywhere, but no one could figure out who was the leaker. At some point Kolbe wanted to give lie detector tests to the entire police force, but was shot down by the police union.
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Edited 6/1/01 12:55:34 AM ET by TOADLOAD
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 12:22 am
To: TOADLOAD (22 of 64)
827.22 in reply to 827.21
Private Attorney French:
He is a good guy and a friend of Arndt's. He tried to help her with Eller but couldn't get anywhere. He portrayed Eller as a very cold heartless person who could care less about the well being of officers.
Apparently there was a meeting scheduled between Eller, Arndt, and French; but Eller made Arndt and French wait outside his office until either the Peter Boyles show or Mike Rosen show was over. Then the meeting was not cordial and was of less duration than the wait outside for the radio show to come to an end.
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 12:28 am
To: TOADLOAD (23 of 64)
827.23 in reply to 827.21
Peter, mentally ill, Boyles: Colorado Trash Talk Morning Radio
Monolog
His name was brought up many times during the day with almost universal agreement that he is a trouble maker that doesn't really present any news, but likes to make controversy surrounding stories that have already been reported in other places. He was often portrayed during testimony as being very short on facts and the root cause of a lot of misinformation, and disinformation about the JBR case. All in all there seemed to be rather complete agreement that he is nothing more than a loud mouthed abrasive jerk who really doesn't know much about the true facts of the case at all.
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Edited 6/2/2001 12:56:42 AM ET by TOADLOAD
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 12:37 am
To: TOADLOAD (24 of 64)
827.24 in reply to 827.23
The days revelations:
Linda Arndt was a good officer, but feared for her own safety because of Team Ramsey.
The case was described by the BPD council as a "tar baby" that messed up the life of anyone who got near it.
Kolbe's leadership of the department had to be pathetic. Apparently from the testimony presented it can be surmised that he was extremely deficient in leadership skills, and Eller was his Lieutenant in charge of the mismanagement.
Linda Arndt actually said at some point to officials in the department that she was being "mind fucked by John Ramsey."
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Edited 6/1/01 12:58:10 AM ET by TOADLOAD
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 12:44 am
To: TOADLOAD (25 of 64)
827.25 in reply to 827.24
My reporting is based solely on my own impressions. I had no pencil or notebook. There may be unintentional inaccuracies of the actual testimony and the true intent of the witnesses. Therefore none of it should be taken as actual fact.
From: jtcolfax@hotmail.com (JTCOLFAX) 6/1/2001 2:50 am
To: TOADLOAD (26 of 64)
827.26 in reply to 827.25
WOW....that's some good info, i wasn't there long...only from 11:00 till lunch break. I sat on Beck/Koby's side in the third row from the door,...right by the aisle. I didn't see Coffman either time I went. Didn't notice the leg tape on anyone, BUT, used to be a bike messenger, and certainly understand it. It sounds like they rushed thru a lot of witnesses between my time there. You are RIGHT about Beckner's devious look, deer in headlite, but GUILTY.
Also the MAIN POINT anyone should know is: Arndts atty is NOT doing well at all.
From: TOADLOAD 6/1/2001 9:27 am
To: jtcolfax@hotmail.com (JTCOLFAX) (28 of 64)
827.28 in reply to 827.26
Arndt's attorney is not doing well personally, but I can't tell if he's loosing the case. First of all, I'm not sure what Arndt is suing for because I wasn't there during opening arguments. If members of the jury have been mistreated at their work place by low life superiors, then I think she has a fighting chance. Everyone probably knows that management is often not a team player and that is certainly underscored by this case.
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Edited 6/2/2001 12:58:48 AM ET by TOADLOAD