When Stroup was acquitted of murder, the kidnapping charges became the only avenue for ensuring he would be sent to prison, Gammick said. "We felt the jury would convict him of murder charges," he said. They wanted to handle the murders as part of a larger federal investigation into drug dealing and other killings, he said.Īfter being elected in 1994, Gammick said, he took the case back "because they had not taken action on it" and charged Stroup with capital murder and kidnapping charges.īecause the focus was on the murder charges, both the prosecution and defense either overlooked or downplayed the statute of limitations on the two counts of kidnapping, Gammick said. Gammick was a chief deputy under District Attorney Dorothy Nash Holmes at the time, he said, and objected strongly when she ordered him to turn the case over to the U.S. The six-day manhunt ended when Stroupe was arrested in McDowell County in a truck belonging to a missing Mills River man. "It brings a means to an end for me," he told a Reno newspaper.ĭistrict Attorney Richard Gammick blamed federal officials when asked why prosecutors waited until 1995 to file charges against Stroup. Stroup said the cases and conviction have been a nightmare and he agreed to the plea to end the matter. Stroup's father, Bobby Stroup, was convicted of the killings in 2001.ĭeputy District Attorney Terry McCarthy said the kidnap and murder charges would not be refiled. Instead of seeking a new trial, Stroup pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of coercion with physical force and was sentenced to time served. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found near the Mount Rose Ski Area in 1991. Stroup, 35, was acquitted of murder but convicted of kidnapping Daniel Rasmussen and Jack Strawbridge from a convenience store on Long Street. THOMASVILLE - A 26-year-old man has been charged with abusing two newborn babies causing serious injuries. Polaha, now a fellow Washoe District Court judge, was defeated by Hardesty in the 1998 election but was appointed to the bench by the governor in 1999, elected in 2000 and re-elected last year. Father charged with child abuse of newborn twins in Davidson County. "The court finds that in these respects, counsels' representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms," Hardesty said in his order dismissing the kidnapping charges and granting a new trial. The time limit on kidnapping is three years. Washoe District Judge James Hardesty on Thursday said Stroup's trial lawyers, Jerry Polaha and Marc Picker, failed to defend him properly because they didn't realize that the statute of limitations on the kidnapping charge had expired by the time Stroup was charged in 1995. Roger Stroup's release from prison is imminent, his attorneys said. He ran into a tomato field before he was taken into custody. Highway 70, west of Marion, about 50 miles away. Check back with Crime Online as additional details become available.RENO - A judge has thrown out the conviction of a man sentenced to four life prison terms for the 1991 kidnapping of two Carson City men killed along the Mount Rose Highway. Stroupe was arrested after a two-county chase at 1:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Stroupe is behind bars in McDowell and charged with Bryson’s murder. on Wednesday to take his sister to a doctor’s appointment.Īuthorities are expected to release additional information on Monday. Bryson left his home on at around 8:30 a.m. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said authorities located Bryson’s body at around 8:30 p.m. in a corn field off of Glenn Bridge Road. Bryson,” Henderson County Sheriff Charlie McDonald said. “Unfortunately, we had to deliver the news, but at least I think we’re thankful we’re able to get them some sort of closure regarding their family member. It’s been a very difficult time for them and the Mills River community as well.”Īuthorities reported that Stroupe, so far, is being uncooperative with the investigation. WYFF reports that Thomas Bryson disappeared on Wednesday in Henderson County, North Carolina, and authorities said that escaped fugitive Phillip Stroupe kidnapped him. Police arrested Stroupe on Thursday in McDowell County in Bryson’s truck, after leading them on a manhunt since July 22. The body of a man believed to be kidnapped by a fugitive during a nationwide manhunt has been found.
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