IN v. Richard Allen
IN v. Richard Allen
When Richard and Kathy Allen arrived at the State Police Post in Lafayette to pick up their vehicle, Jerry Holeman told them he had just a few questions about results they received pertaining to items seized in the search of their home.
Holeman hissy fit arrested Rick for withstanding Holeman's attempts to berate, threaten, and leverage him into conceding to lies about witnesses, experts, and evidence. Holeman then drove Rick to Delphi and booked him into the Carroll County Jail under an alias.
Note: The cuts in the video were the portions of the interrogation that were excluded as a result of the Court's decision to exclude the 3rd party suspects. At the time of the interrogation, law enforcement believed Richard Allen was their nexus to the Klines. By the time law enforcement realized there was no connection between Rick and the Klines, they'd already shipped him off to Westville, tortured him, and won an election.
Tony Liggett, then just a detective, prepared a Probable Cause Affidavit that put false words in the victim's mouth about a gun due to the fact that there was no actually probable cause to arrest Richard Allen otherwise.
A video recovered from Liberty's phone on Feb. 15, 2017 shows Abigail walking southeast on the Monon High Bridge while an unknown male wearing a blue windbreaker, jeans, boots, and a baseball cap walking behind her. As Abigail approaches Liberty at the end of the bridge, Liberty is heard saying, "This is the path that we go down. There's no path going there so we have to go down here." 12 seconds later, an unknown male is heard faintly in the background saying, "Guys, down the hill." The video ends four seconds later.
Liggett, however, told the judge, "one of the victims mentions, "gun."
Kathy Allen hires Brett Gibson of Gibson Law Office in Lafayette, Indiana and pays him a $5,000 retainer the next day.
Request to Prohibit Public Access: McLeland files the Probable Cause Affidavit, Charging Information, and a Verified Request To Prohibit Public Access To A Court Record.
Gibson emails the Carroll County Sheriff's Office: "Please be advised that I have been retained to represent Richard M. Allen in certain matters relating to an investigation being conducted by your office. It is my understanding that my client is being detained by Carroll County Sheriff. He will not be giving any statements regarding this matter. If he is currently being questioned, the interview should be terminated."
Gibson calls the Carroll County Sheriff's Office: Sheriff Leazenby later confirmed receipt of Gibson's letter, however, at the time, someone at the Carroll County jail told Gibson that Richard Allen was not an inmate.
Gibson emails Prosecutor McLeland: After receiving his email, McLeland called Gibson on his cell phone to say Allen was listed at the jail under a different name/alias but he could arrange for Gibson to meet with Allen.
Gibson goes to the Carroll County Jail: Someone from the Sheriff's Office took Gibson to a meeting room. It appeared to Gibson the regular jail staff did not know Allen was there. Still on the evening of Oct. 27th, Gibson met with Allen and advised him not to discuss his case over the telephone, because calls would certainly be recorded.
Gibson calls Kathy Allen: Around 10 pm, Gibson called Kathy to say he would not be able to get Richard Allen out of jail, because he was going to be charged with two counts of murder the next day.
It remains unclear why exactly Brett Gibson called Kathy to inform her that Rick would be charged the next day but then not show up for Allen's Initial Hearing.
Order on Initial Hearing: Clad in protective gear, Allen advised the Court he intended to hire private counsel. Allen was advised that he must retain counsel within twenty days as there are deadlines associated with the omnibus hearing, which may be waived if not timely pled. Pleas of not guilty were entered.
Order Sealing Court Records Pending Public Hearing: The request and all court records were ordered sealed and deemed confidential under Indiana Rules of Court, Rules on Access to Court Records, Rule 6, pending public hearing.
Order finding probable cause: Bond was set for $20 bazillion Carroll County Bucks.
Pre-Omnibus Order: Richard Allen's jury trial was set for March 20, 2023.
The Record of Initial Hearing Held Oct. 28, 2022 can be found here.
Allen is transferred to White County Jail: After the hearing was commenced, Allen was transferred to and held by White County Jail while ISP made arrangements to rendition him to Westville Correctional Facility.
At this time, law enforcement was still refusing to confirm the identity of the man they arrested in violation of Indiana Public Access laws.
Fox59 Report: "Man booked into Carroll County Jail in connection with Delphi Murders not cooperating with law enforcement" — this is the earliest known mention about a Safekeeping Order.
Law enforcement presser: Officials with Indiana State Police and Carroll County announced the arrest of Richard M. Allen, who now faces two counts of murder.
Press release: "On Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, detectives with the Delphi Double Homicide Task Force took Richard Allen, 50, from Delphi Indiana into custody at the Indiana State Police Lafayette Post for the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Allen was transported to Carroll County Jail, where he was being held. On Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, Allen was formally charged with two counts of murder and transported to the White County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond."
Gibson withdraws: "At this point, I do not believe I will be hired to represent Richard Allen going forward. I want to send him a letter of disengagement so there is no confusion. Can you confirm with me where he is, so that I can send him a disengagement letter?"
Order for Safekeeping: Judge Diener issued a bizarre Safekeeping Order characterizing basic public record requests and a very brief (and also completely neutral) news segment about his role in the case as "bloodlust." As there were exactly zero threats on Allen's life, it remains unclear what legal basis the Safekeeping Order was granted on.
Critical stage of proceedings: During this critical stage of proceedings, Diener decided not to hold a hearing on the Sheriff-Judge's request for Safekeeping. This decision violated Allen's right to refuse safekeeping.
Diener recuses himself: Judge Diener recused himself from the case and requested the appointment of a Special Judge. The Supreme Court of Indiana appointed Frances C. Gull of Allen County by the end of the day.
Allen is placed in solitary confinement under 24/7 surveillance: For the next 13 months, Allen will be held in the same cell under almost unprecedented conditions. A detailed timeline of his pretrial detention can be found here.
A stop is placed on Allen's letter: At some point after Allen wrote a letter to the Court asking for court-appointed counsel, a stop was placed on his letter, but it remains unclear who requested the mail-stop.
Holeman decides to take one more go at Allen: Holeman, Liggett, Mullin, and Davies plan a visit to Westville in the coming days to see if being renditioned to a maximum-security prison, and held in solitary confinement, will have made him more susceptible to being leveraged into snitching on the Klines. During his deposition, Holeman said the reason for timing their visit during this time was specifically due to Allen's lack of representation.
Allen refuses to talk: After failing to trigger the desired response from Allen, his letter requesting the Court to appoint counsel was suddenly re-mailed to the Court.
Allen's letter magically arrives: Carroll County Court finally received and filed the letter Allen wrote almost two weeks earlier.
Order Appointing Counsel: Public defenders Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi were appointed to represent Allen.
Order on Status Hearing: Eight days after Gull finally appointed counsel to represent Richard Allen, he had his first truly private conversation with them.
Record of Proceedings Held on Nov. 22, 2022 can be found here.