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January 27, 1999Holtzer gets 10 to 15 years for beatingJudge levies maximum penalty for assault on TC woman
Record-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A judge gave Kevin Holtzer the maximum sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison Tuesday for a brutal assault in an alley just over a year ago. Thirteenth Circuit Judge Thomas Power cited the viciousness of the attack in sentencing Holtzer to the maximum, after a day of testimony about DNA evidence in an unrelated murder case. A jury convicted Holtzer in December of assault with intent to do great bodily harm after prosecutors used DNA evidence to connect Holtzer to the Jan. 24 attack on Kristen LaCharite in an alley behind Front Street. Holtzer pulled LaCharite from her pickup as she sat waiting for a friend to return home, knocked her unconscious and continued to beat her, possibly causing a permanent closed head injury. Holtzer, smiling and laughing with two of his three lawyers before the hearing, said, "I have nothing to say," when Power asked him if he wanted to speak. Alan Schneider, Grand Traverse assistant prosecutor, called Holtzer "chronically violent and destructive," and asked for the maximum sentence. Power sentenced Holtzer to more than the 10 years in prison allowed for the charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm because prosecutors also charged Holtzer with being an habitual offender, allowing Power to enhance the sentence. Holtzer served one year in jail in Ingham County after a conviction several years ago on charges of unarmed robbery. Holtzer's criminal history also includes convictions for vandalism and reckless driving, and a domestic assault charge that was dismissed. Power said the behavior described in that charge was "extremely violent," including tying up a live-in girlfriend. When it was his turn to ask for a lighter sentence, defense lawyer Larry Willey said he would not speak about the details of the LaCharite assault or Holtzer's good and bad personal traits. "Mr. Holtzer at the trial maintained that he was not guilty and Mr. Holtzer still maintains that," Willey said. Calling attention surrounding the case a "highly charged atmosphere," Willey asked Power to ignore public feeling about the case and disregard the fact that Holtzer awaits trial on murder charges in an unrelated case. "Mr. Holtzer has been front-page news in this town for almost a year now, and it's news that is almost always negative," Willey said. Schneider agreed that Power should set aside media interest and not consider the murder charges pending against Holtzer, but said that just considering the brutality and randomness of the attack, Power should conclude that Holtzer deserves the maximum.
"I feel that Kevin Holtzer is a person that gets great pleasure from the beatings he gives his victims. His abnormal thoughts and uncontrolled rage must be considered by this system," LaCharite wrote. She said head injuries still plague her, causing an inability to concentrate that has made it impossible to stay employed since the attack. "He shows no guilt, shame, or remorse for his actions. I again ask, WHY? There is an evilness in him that I cannot comprehend and never saw before in ANYONE." Patricia LaCharite, who attended the sentencing, said she was relieved Holtzer got more prison time than the original charge would have allowed, but said she fears a justice system that could let him out of prison on parole early and gives criminal defendants too many rights. "I think he's a sociopath and that the only thing that he's ever worried about was getting caught," she said. "There's something really wrong with him; he has no feelings." DNA evidence debated in murder trialBy PATRICK SULLIVANRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Lawyers defending Kevin Holtzer Tuesday continued to pore over details of DNA tests prosecutors say connect Holtzer to a February slaying. Holtzer awaits trial in late March on charges that he bludgeoned Northwestern Michigan College student Kalee Bruce to death while she worked as a desk clerk at the Beach Condominiums in East Bay Township. Holtzer lived in an apartment at the condominiums. Prosecutors say a pubic hair found at the crime scene belongs to Holtzer and a strand of hair found in Holtzer's room belongs to Bruce. Holtzer's lawyers seek to have that evidence thrown out on the grounds that mitochondrial DNA tests - distinct from the more-commonly known nuclear DNA tests - are unreliable. Cross-examination of prosecution expert Anita Matthews continues today and two more days of testimony from other witnesses are expected before 13th Circuit Judge Thomas Power rules on the admissibility of the evidence. Defense lawyer Ray Beckering sought to prove Tuesday that LabCorp, the North Carolina-based company hired by prosecutors to analyze the evidence, is fraught with contamination. Beckering also repeatedly questioned Matthews about LabCorp's validation process. Laboratories use a validation process to demonstrate their methods are sound for use in criminal prosecution. LabCorp, which only began mitochondrial DNA testing two years ago, was still undergoing validation for mitochondrial tests involving hair when it tested samples in the Holtzer case. Extremely new to courtrooms, mitochondrial evidence has only been used in a handful of cases across the country, and in cases where LabCorp personnel have tested samples, the evidence has never been contested. No appeals court has yet ruled on the evidence. Sometimes visibly frustrated with Beckering, who went into great detail while questioning Matthews, Power at one point told Beckering to make sure his questions remained relevant. Power closely followed the testimony, often asking questions himself. After several dozen questions from Beckering about contamination, Power interrupted to ask what likelihood there was that some contamination could lead to false results and a wrongful conviction. "The chance of contamination that just happens to match the known sample is very unlikely, unless there's cross-contamination," Power said. "What is the chance that there might be some contamination left from the known sample?" he asked. Cross-contamination is avoided, Matthews said, by running the tests at different times and using equipment that has been cleaned with an acid wash and ultraviolet light. |
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