Thursday, August 14, 2008

State Court Orders New Trial In Rigling Murder

   More than three years after he was denied a new trial by a local judge, judges at the state level have reversed the conviction of a Lawrenceburg man convicted of murdering a St. Joseph convenience store clerk.

   Jimmy Dale Hogan, now 42, was found guilty of felony murder and especially aggravated assault in connection with the June 19, 1992, death of Iron City resident JoAnn Rigling, age 57. Rigling was found dead inside Phil’s One Stop, the convenience store she owned with her husband. Authorities indicated Rigling had died as the result of a single gunshot wound to the head, sustained while she was being robbed. The culprits made off with the store’s cash register, allegedly fleeing in a black-colored car.

   Hogan and codefendant Tammy Danette Olmstead Smith were indicted in the case in the wake of an intensive four-year investigation conducted through the St. Joseph Police Department, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Currently, Olmstead is serving a twenty-three-year sentence for the part she played in the crime.

   Hogan twice stood trial in connection with Rigling’s death in 1997 under Lawrence County Circuit Judge William Cain. The first trial in March, 1997, ended in a hung jury. During a second trial in July of 1997, jurors quickly returned a guilty verdict on both the felony murder and especially aggravated robbery charges.

   Hogan’s murder conviction carried an automatic life sentence, requiring that he spend 25 years incarcerated through the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC). During a sentencing hearing held the following February he was given an additional 20 years for the armed robbery conviction, to run consecutively with the murder sentence.

   Hogan sought a new trial in 2005 citing that he had ineffective counsel in Public Defender Herschel Koger. After reviewing the case Lawrence County Circuit Judge Robert Jones denied Hogan’s petition for post-conviction relief. Hogan then filed an appeal with the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. When that court affirmed Jones’ decision the appeal was then sent to the Tennessee Supreme Court. After a review, judges of that panel remanded the case back to the Court of Criminal Appeals for reconsideration. Judge John Everett Williams filed paperwork recording the court’s decision on Tuesday, August 12, 2008.

   The documents states, “After careful review, we conclude that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to seek a jury instruction on second degree murder as a lesser included offense of felony murder; therefore, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand this matter to the trial court for a new trial on the petitioner’s conviction for felony murder.”

   Officials with the District Attorney’s Office indicate that the case remains in the appeals process at the present time. At this point the State Attorney General has the option of appealing the Criminal Court of Appeals decision to the Tennessee Supreme Court. They indicate that they will request that such an appeal be made.

   The court’s reversal does not include Hogan’s especially aggravated robbery conviction. Authorities indicate that he remains incarcerated through TDOC.

 

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