Charles “Chuck” Birdhead is charged with the death of 33 year old Eustacio Marrufo. The Family of BirdHead feels that local media outlets have already influenced the jury pool.
Did local media taint jury pool?
Birdhead family believes Black Hills community immediately labeled him as guilty
By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News Staff Writer RAPID CITY—On the night of Jan 7, 2013 somebody shot and killed 33 year old Eustacio Marrufo, with a tampered shotgun outside of the South Dakota Rose Inn, in Rapid City. Within the next couple of days the Rapid City police department released the name of 30 year old Charles “Chuck” Birdhead, as a person of interest in the murder. Along with the release of the name the Rapid City Police Department, who has in the past had a shaky relationship with the Native America community, provided a mug shot to local media outlets of Birdhead, that cast a not so friendly initial image of the Native American male to the public. A week later Birdhead was arrested and charged with manslaughter and a number of other charges including fourth-degree rape, commission of a felony with a firearm, possession of a controlled weapon, and distributing methamphetamine to a minor along with a number of other charges. Birdhead surrendered to police peacefully after being asked to exit his surrounded home in the Star Village neighborhood of Rapid City. The state of South Dakota asserts that Birdhead shot Marrufo in a drug deal gone badly. "A manslaughter count as we've charged it requires that the homicide was unnecessary, or in the first count that it was in the commission of a felony," said state’s attorney Mark Vargo. "In this case, we've alleged that it was during the commission of a distribution of a controlled substance," added Vargo. Prior to taking a position with the State of South Dakota, Vargo worked as an assistant United States attorney where he was known to be hard-nosed and unwilling to cut deals with accused federal offenders in exchange for pleas. At his initial hearing Birdhead communicated to the court that he was aware of the severity of the charges and was ready to confront them. “I'm tired of running. I have no plans of any flight," Birdhead told the judge. "I'm treating this serious and I want to take care of it as best I can," he added. At the official arraignment hearing on Feb 19, Birdhead quietly acknowledged that he understood that charges against him, and then pled not guilty to all of them. At the arraignment hearing on Feb 19, Birdhead’s attorney Jamy Patterson, acknowledged that her client understood the charges against him and then filed a motion for discovery with the court asking the state to handover all evidence against her client. She mentioned that there may be several recordings in the possession of the state that she had yet to receive. Often a tactic employed by prosecutors is to delay the release of incriminating evidence against the accused in order for speculation and apprehension to take hold of the accused. Currently Birdhead is awaiting a bond hearing that is set for Feb 26. The family of Birdhead, feels that the media has portrayed him in a way that could potentially influence potential jurors in a way that is not favorable for him. “There are always two sides to a story. The media labeled him guilty, and thousands of people posted horrible comments about him. From this, it was one-sided and biased. I have no doubt that the jury pool is tainted,” says Karen Testerman, the mother of Birdhead. Black Hill’s Fox news along with the Rapid City Journal, and other local media sources all posted the mug shot picture of Birdhead which portrays him as a hard core criminal and a danger to society. In response, the Black Hills community immediately labeled Birdhead as guilty, and in several comments posted on social media sites called for the death penalty and a swift prosecution of the accused. Many of the comments posted on the sites had racial undertones, which were allowed to remain visible for several days. The Black Hills area of South Dakota has gained a notorious reputation as being unfriendly to its large Native American population. "I feel it is important to let people know my son Charles. He's always been a humble, genuine individual. A lot of people know him and love him,” said Testerman. "He's traveled all across the United States to assist people in their time of need and through prayer. He's helped a lot of people in Rapid City and surrounding areas as well. I raised him and his siblings in church and our spiritual ways” she added. Rapid City unlike major cities has only a few media outlets that are used by the larger population to gain insight in to current events. Unfortunately many of the local papers including the Rapid City Journal do not fairly or accurately portray Native peoples. In the past the Rapid City Journal has sensationalized the arrests and convictions of Native Americans on the front page while downplaying the good according to Testerman. She feels it is important that a different portrayal of her son be known to the public, who will ultimately decide his guilt or innocence if the case makes it to trial. "He was a traditional dancer when he was a teenager. One time, someone stole his Hawk bustle and head roach. He was devastated and wanted to cry. He just wiped away his tears and kept quiet. I hugged him and told him everything would be alright, and that I would try to find him another one,” said Testerman. “Word got around at the pow wow, and a dear friend of our family went to the podium and called out his name. Charles went up to the podium, and my friend gave him an eagle bustle and full head roach. My son would always go to him and shake his hand every time he seen him at a pow wow,” she added. A trial date has not been set. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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