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Irregular News for 07.24.06
Isabella County, MI -- An Isabella County jury on Friday acquitted a Kalkaska man of making three people ill after shaking their hands in December.
Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours before finding John Curtis Ridgeway, 42, not guilty of police officer assault/resisting and obstructing and two counts of assault/obstruction of a public officer.
Earlier in the day, Ridgeway continued his testimony that he used an oil to anoint "corrupt buildings."
Isabella County Assistant Prosecutor Amanda Swanson, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Sgt. Jerry Smith and bailiff Hector Latorre had inexplicably become ill after shaking hands with Ridgeway following a brief trial involving Ridgeway on Dec. 21, 2005.
While Gratiot County Prosecutor Keith Kushion declined to comment on the verdicts, defense attorney William Shirley said jurors made the right decision because there was no intent on Ridgeway's part to harm anyone.
The verdicts came after defense testimony from a court employee and from Ridgeway, who said he did not intend to harm the three when he shook their hands in December. In that case, he was found guilty of driving with no insurance, a misdemeanor.
Sid Benaske, a courthouse bailiff, testified Friday morning that he shook Ridgeway's hand the day of the misdemeanor trial and he did not experience any adverse effects.
During questioning by Shirley, Ridgeway explained that the oil he used to anoint corrupt buildings was meant to rid the buildings of demons.
Ridgeway also testified that he had no reason to hurt Swanson, Smith and Latorre.
During questioning by Kushion - who handled the case for Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick because county employees were involved - Ridgeway spoke of sprouting rye in a closet in his home to make bread.
Kushion questioned Ridgeway about the contents of Mason jars police found in his home, apparently suggesting that the substance on his fingertips at the time he shook hands with Swanson, Smith and Latorre was not from the vial of oil he had in a canvas bag during the December trial.
When asked about a petri dish found in his closet, Ridgeway said it was a substance he found on the back of a toilet that he decided to try to grow at home.
On the witness stand for about 45 minutes, Ridgeway admitted to "not necessarily" telling the truth to Mt. Pleasant Police Detective Paul Lauria following his arrest Dec. 22, 2005, about ever anointing people with the oil, which was blessed by a radio minister in Colorado.
Ridgeway told Lauria he had never anointed a person, but wrote in an e-mail to Pastor Pete Peters, who runs Scriptures for America, that he anointed two attorneys at the Kalkaska County Courthouse prior to the Dec. 21 trial in Isabella County.
Ridgeway also wrote in the e-mail that he would continue to anoint courthouses and other buildings to rid them of evil but "will move with more stealth and avoid the snares of the enemy."
Ridgeway's e-mail was a response to an item in "Dragon Slayer," a newsletter published by Scriptures for America, in which Peters chastised Ridgeway for being open about his mission as one of "Gideon's Guerillas."
Peters rebuked Ridgeway for not following "the rules of silence," Kushion said.
Kushion also asked why Ridgeway would anoint attorneys at the Kalkaska County Courthouse when the purpose of the oil is to rid buildings of demons, and asked Ridgeway if he believed the attorneys were "tares," or in Biblical terms, "children of the wicked one."
"I would say maybe not all of them," Ridgeway responded.
Kushion also asked Ridgeway about an e-mail to Peters in which the two men suggested that Swanson, Smith and Latorre became ill after shaking his hand because they are demons.
Ridgeway said he would not agree with that depiction, but said it is possible the three were possessed by demons.
source
Isabella County, MI -- An Isabella County jury on Friday acquitted a Kalkaska man of making three people ill after shaking their hands in December.
Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours before finding John Curtis Ridgeway, 42, not guilty of police officer assault/resisting and obstructing and two counts of assault/obstruction of a public officer.
Earlier in the day, Ridgeway continued his testimony that he used an oil to anoint "corrupt buildings."
Isabella County Assistant Prosecutor Amanda Swanson, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Sgt. Jerry Smith and bailiff Hector Latorre had inexplicably become ill after shaking hands with Ridgeway following a brief trial involving Ridgeway on Dec. 21, 2005.
While Gratiot County Prosecutor Keith Kushion declined to comment on the verdicts, defense attorney William Shirley said jurors made the right decision because there was no intent on Ridgeway's part to harm anyone.
The verdicts came after defense testimony from a court employee and from Ridgeway, who said he did not intend to harm the three when he shook their hands in December. In that case, he was found guilty of driving with no insurance, a misdemeanor.
Sid Benaske, a courthouse bailiff, testified Friday morning that he shook Ridgeway's hand the day of the misdemeanor trial and he did not experience any adverse effects.
During questioning by Shirley, Ridgeway explained that the oil he used to anoint corrupt buildings was meant to rid the buildings of demons.
Ridgeway also testified that he had no reason to hurt Swanson, Smith and Latorre.
During questioning by Kushion - who handled the case for Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick because county employees were involved - Ridgeway spoke of sprouting rye in a closet in his home to make bread.
Kushion questioned Ridgeway about the contents of Mason jars police found in his home, apparently suggesting that the substance on his fingertips at the time he shook hands with Swanson, Smith and Latorre was not from the vial of oil he had in a canvas bag during the December trial.
When asked about a petri dish found in his closet, Ridgeway said it was a substance he found on the back of a toilet that he decided to try to grow at home.
On the witness stand for about 45 minutes, Ridgeway admitted to "not necessarily" telling the truth to Mt. Pleasant Police Detective Paul Lauria following his arrest Dec. 22, 2005, about ever anointing people with the oil, which was blessed by a radio minister in Colorado.
Ridgeway told Lauria he had never anointed a person, but wrote in an e-mail to Pastor Pete Peters, who runs Scriptures for America, that he anointed two attorneys at the Kalkaska County Courthouse prior to the Dec. 21 trial in Isabella County.
Ridgeway also wrote in the e-mail that he would continue to anoint courthouses and other buildings to rid them of evil but "will move with more stealth and avoid the snares of the enemy."
Ridgeway's e-mail was a response to an item in "Dragon Slayer," a newsletter published by Scriptures for America, in which Peters chastised Ridgeway for being open about his mission as one of "Gideon's Guerillas."
Peters rebuked Ridgeway for not following "the rules of silence," Kushion said.
Kushion also asked why Ridgeway would anoint attorneys at the Kalkaska County Courthouse when the purpose of the oil is to rid buildings of demons, and asked Ridgeway if he believed the attorneys were "tares," or in Biblical terms, "children of the wicked one."
"I would say maybe not all of them," Ridgeway responded.
Kushion also asked Ridgeway about an e-mail to Peters in which the two men suggested that Swanson, Smith and Latorre became ill after shaking his hand because they are demons.
Ridgeway said he would not agree with that depiction, but said it is possible the three were possessed by demons.
source
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