John Taylor
07-15-2010, 04:58 PM
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100715/NEWS01/7150336/Rape%20charges%20dropped%20%20ending%20man%20s%202 9-year%20ordeal?GID=fMl7hC9bxJTBPlD42PLAW8RP2FYieOQu TmvFlhqH24Q%3D
Michael VonAllmen's nearly 29-year slog through the criminal justice system, including 11 years in prison for a crime he swears he did not commit, ended in just two minutes Thursday when a prosecutor agreed to dismiss the charges and never re-file them.
After Jefferson Circuit Judge Charles Cunningham accepted the recommendation of Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Kristi Gray, VonAllmen stood outside the courtroom, fighting back tears, and proclaimed: "Life is good."
The 57-year-old VonAllmen, a plumber by trade, said he had come to court expecting Cunningham to set a date to retry the case. . .
In addition, the victim in the case described her rapist's eyes as blue. Tackett had blue eyes, but VonAllmen's are brown. And Tackett lived just blocks from the location where the victim was abducted at gunpoint, according to court records. Police took a gun from Tackett after arresting him on robbery charges months after the rape.
At VonAllmen's trial, three witnesses testified that he had been with them at a party the night of the rape. One of the three said VonAllmen had given him a ride home about 3:30 a.m., which is about the same time that the assault occurred.
And VonAllmen's girlfriend at the time testified that she later talked with him by phone and eventually spent the night with him.
Michael VonAllmen's nearly 29-year slog through the criminal justice system, including 11 years in prison for a crime he swears he did not commit, ended in just two minutes Thursday when a prosecutor agreed to dismiss the charges and never re-file them.
After Jefferson Circuit Judge Charles Cunningham accepted the recommendation of Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Kristi Gray, VonAllmen stood outside the courtroom, fighting back tears, and proclaimed: "Life is good."
The 57-year-old VonAllmen, a plumber by trade, said he had come to court expecting Cunningham to set a date to retry the case. . .
In addition, the victim in the case described her rapist's eyes as blue. Tackett had blue eyes, but VonAllmen's are brown. And Tackett lived just blocks from the location where the victim was abducted at gunpoint, according to court records. Police took a gun from Tackett after arresting him on robbery charges months after the rape.
At VonAllmen's trial, three witnesses testified that he had been with them at a party the night of the rape. One of the three said VonAllmen had given him a ride home about 3:30 a.m., which is about the same time that the assault occurred.
And VonAllmen's girlfriend at the time testified that she later talked with him by phone and eventually spent the night with him.