Prosecution rests in home invasion trial

NORWICH – Court came to a close late Tuesday with the people resting their case against an accused home invader and rapist.

After hearing the testimony from six witnesses, which included the victim and alleged coconspirator in the crime, defense attorney Linden D. Summers said he could not tell the court if his client, Jonathan “Joe” Elwood, 30, of Ashcraft Road, Norwich, would testify in his own defense today.

The prosecution called the victim to the stand to describe her version of events that took place during the Dec. 4 attack. She had fallen asleep she said, sometime around 8:30 p.m. and was awaken by a “loud bang.” Not until moments later would she realize that the source of the noise was two men breaking down her front door. In statements given to police, Elwood reported his coconspirator, Stephen R. Ohl, 25, of Lawrence Road, Sherburne, was the one who entered the home first – but in Ohl’s confession to the court last Wednesday, he said it was Elwood.



“I realized men were in my house and in that second I looked behind me and there was a man with a gun and he just hit me,” said the victim. In the following questions by the defense, the victim said she believed it was Ohl who struck her.

The gun used in the Sherburne attack was on display before the court and was an AK-47 assault rifle with pink camouflage. Ohl admitted in court the weapon belonged to him. However, Ohl, the victim and Elwood’s statements to police point to Elwood as the one carrying the gun. The prosecution brought in the man who later purchased the gun from the two suspects and reported that at the time he received the weapon, it was functional and had full automatic firing capability.

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Reader Response

4 comments on this story

BethMarie
November 29th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
if he was a good father ,he would of been home with his children . Did we all forget this happened the nite of his daugters birthday party . Some people are just so blind of the truth .I myself saw how bad of a father he was .he was gone more than he was home ..drinking and drugs came first with him.i personally hope he rots in jail .. kids are better off...
lhover
November 29th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I think your mistake was not finishing High School~ Wizard66 is 100% correct!
November 29th, 2007 at 8:18 am
To wizard66, maybe you shouldn't of said what you said , one of them is a wonderful father of two he had some problems that should have been taking care of but we never new that he was in to things that bad . He has to pay for what he has done but for you to say " hang these useless wastes of skin " is a little to much I think .How would you feel if you had no father . These two beauitful kids need their dad.I now what he did was realy wrong but not every one is perfect and, every makes mastakes....
Wizard66
November 29th, 2007 at 1:57 am
They should hang these useless wastes of skin in front of the court house. But, only after they're found guilty by a trial of their peers.
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