Good Read 3 The Verdict

[mrxbower]

Defendant found guilty in Goliath theft case
By HEATHER LESKANIC



Jurors find Jeff Spence guilty on one count each of theft and receiving stolen property.


BROOKVILLE - The owner of a deer breeding farm on trial for the 1999 theft of an extraordinary buck was found guilty Friday following a week-long trial.

Attorneys presented their closing arguments to the Jefferson County jury Friday morning.

Jurors deliberated about four hours before finding Jeff Spence guilty on one count each of theft and receiving stolen property.

State police charged Spence, the owner of the White Oak Whitetails deer ranch in Reynoldsville, in the Oct. 19, 1999, theft of a deer known as Goliath from a Beaver Township, Clarion County, couple.

The high-profile trial started Monday before Jefferson County Judge John H. Foradora.

District Attorney Jeff Burkett served as prosecutor while Clarion attorney Ralph Montana represented Spence.

Burkett portrayed the defendant as having lied to jurors about his lack of knowledge concerning how he came to own the animal.

Rod and Diane Miller raised the buck they named Goliath at their Wild Bunch Ranch near Knox. They bought it when it was two days old from a Pennsylvania breeder, according to testimony.

Spence testified on Thursday in his own defense that he could not recall exactly where he bought the animal or from whom.

Burkett said the defendant told other individuals who had inquired about his buck Hercules - which ultimately turned out to be Goliath as a result of genetics testing - in e-mails that it was a yearling from a small Amish pen in Ohio.

"He did not admit he knew exactly how old that deer was," said Burkett. "All the evidence shows clearly he did."

The district attorney said Spence's story "did not square with the other witnesses."

Burkett had asked the defendant if he had possession of the deer in the fall of 1999 as it was linked to fawns born the next spring at the Reynoldsville farm.

Spence said he couldn't be certain.

"He wouldn't allow himself to be pinned down to anything," Burkett said Friday. "He doesn't want to be in possession (of the buck) in 1999."

The prosecutor said it would hurt Spence's claims of innocence if he had the deer shortly after it was stolen.

Goliath is reportedly the largest whitetail ever recorded in the history of the breed. Experts say it could have been worth $500,000 or more.

At the time of the theft during the evening hours of Oct. 19, 1999, the animal was about two years old, weighed 260 pounds and had 28 points or antler tips.

It had been tranquilized and then dragged through a hole cut in a chain link fence, according to officials.

Montana asked the jury "to acquit those who need to be acquitted."

"Every piece of evidence screams to you that Jeff Spence is not guilty of the theft of Goliath," he said.

He had presented an alibi defense in the case.

Spence traveled to a deer farm in New York state with his father to deliver several deer at the time of the alleged theft.

The charge of receiving stolen property requires more than "mere possession," said Montana.

"Just because he had the deer is insufficient or not enough to prove him guilty of the charge of receiving stolen property," said the defense attorney.

Spence would have to know or have reason to believe the deer was probably stolen in order to be found guilty of that charge.

The defendant testified he was in shock the day state police investigators arrived at his ranch with a court order.

He said he never thought it could be Goliath.

The Millers had offered a $100,000 reward in the case.

Montana said the theft of Goliath has been described as elaborate, but he contended his client's behavior was the opposite.

He pointed out the defendant invited deer farmers to his ranch during the time he had the buck as well as Rod Miller himself.

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials went to White Oaks for routine inspections several times due to Spence's status as a licensed propogator, said Montana.

In addition, Spence had placed the picture of Hercules on a Web site for advertising purposes.

No one suggested it was Goliath until a visiting deer farmer made the connection in July 2003, Montana said.

Burkett provided another explanation for that.

He held up the buck's second, third and fourth year antler racks that had been cut off.

"Gee, why didn't anyone see this deer at his place?" the district attorney said.

Burkett also said Spence had advertised another large deer he owned - Braveheart - on his Web site, but there was no mention of Hercules for the first few years.

"He didn't know what he had?" Burkett said. "That's so untrue. He knows it's a breeder and he knows it's a great buck."

The district attorney accused Spence of offering vague details about where the deer had come from.

Spence told individuals in the deer breeding business that he bought Hercules from a small Amish pen in Ohio.

He told others what the buck's specific bloodlines were just days before it was identified as Goliath, said Burkett.

"He first lost his memory when the police showed up at his farm," he said. "His amnesia continues to the present day."

The animal died last December.

Spence is expected to be sentenced within 90 days following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation.