Pubdate: Mon, 27 Oct 2003
Source: Dayton Daily News (OH)
Copyright: 2003 Dayton Daily News
Contact:  http://www.activedayton.com/partners/ddn/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/120
Author: Mary McCarty
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/drug+raid+death
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Clayton+Helriggle

HELRIGGLES QUESTION CONVICT'S LIE

Sharon Helriggle will never stop asking herself, "What
if?"

That's true of any parent who loses a child to violence. But for
Helriggle and her husband, Mike, the litany of "What ifs" only grows
longer with time.

It grew longer still with the recent release of a Montgomery County
Sheriff's Office investigation into the shooting death of her
23-year-old son, Clayton Helriggle, in a 2002 raid on a Preble County
farmhouse.

The report is an administrative review of the practices and training
of the Preble County sheriff's now-disbanded regional SWAT team. There
it is, in black and white, on page 21 of the 31-page report:

Kevin Leitch - convicted felon, burglar and a key witness in the case
- - told investigators he mistakenly told a Greene County grand jury
that Clayton Helriggle was the one selling drugs from the house. The
grand jury did not issue any indictments against the officers or the
farmhouse residents.

"That part of the report upset us greatly," Mrs. Helriggle said. "I
don't know if it would have changed the outcome of the grand jury, and
we'll probably never know."

What if Leitch had told the truth to the grand jury? Would Helriggle's
parents feel any closer to justice for their son?

"That's my war cry - 'Justice for Clayton,' " Mrs. Helriggle said. "He
deserves to have his name cleared."

After reading the report, she also was stunned by the near-total
silence from the officers involved in the raid. Acting on the advice
of their lawyers, they refused to be interviewed by their brother
officers in Montgomery County.

"When I first saw the report I was thoroughly disgusted," Sharon
Helriggle said. "But it has stirred things back up. People are mad
because the police won't cooperate. It makes the public wonder if they
do have something to hide."

Preble County Sheriff Thomas Hayes declined comment because of the
civil lawsuit the Helriggles filed in federal court last month against
Preble County and 20 individuals involved in the raid, claiming
wrongful death and violation of their son's civil rights.

Suzanne Schmidt, first assistant Greene County prosecutor, said Friday
that she and Greene County Prosecutor William Schenck plan to review
the report closely as well as speak with the Montgomery County
investigators. "Bill and I will take a look at this report and see if
anything further needs to be done," Schmidt said.

It has been more than a year now since the chaotic raid, during which
Lewisburg police Sgt. Kent Moore shot Helriggle as Helriggle descended
the back stairway to the kitchen. A previous Montgomery County
investigation concluded Helriggle was carrying a 9 mm handgun (a claim
the Helriggles continue to dispute).

On Sept. 27, the anniversary of Clayton's death, Mrs. Helriggle
gathered to pray with several dozen friends at Fair View Cemetery in
Lanier Twp., close to the farm. "It hadn't been raining but we looked
over and saw a huge rainbow on the site of Clay's farm," she recalled.
"We felt that was a sign from Clayton that he was OK."

She clings to that image, that one clear sign in a world in which the
line between between truth and untruth seems to be constantly shifting.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin