Jurors found Eric R.

Wednesday, September 05, 2001

Jurors found Eric R. Lawson, the South Point man accused in the Thanksgiving week robbery of a Burlington Speedway, not guilty at his trial’s end Friday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

"We knew from the very beginning that he didn’t do it," said Kay Lawson, Eric’s mother. "We want to thank the jurors for being honest and listening to the facts. We feel like new people again."

Lawson, 22, was indicted on a charge of aggravated robbery in connection with holding up the Burlington Speedway on Wal-Mart Way on Nov. 23. In the early morning hours, two men allegedly pointed a gun at the attendant, demanded money and then hit her, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department reports stated. Lawson was indicted in February.

The family hired a private investigator and attorney, then spent months maintaining Eric’s innocence, said his father, Gary R. Lawson, who watched, and testified, at last week’s trial.

"My son was home with me and I knew we had to fight this one," Lawson said, adding they thought the case would be dropped.

Lawson said law enforcement ignored evidence and the family’s information about the real culprit. They didn’t try to get fingerprints, a search warrant or look for the gun, which defense attorneys pointed out during closing arguments, Lawson said.

"The jury wasn’t out 25 minutes when they came back with not guilty," he said. "I just want everybody to know he was found not guilty and it didn’t take long for them to decide."

Assistant prosecutor Charles Cooper, who handled the state’s case in court, said he was disappointed in the jury’s findings.

"I haven’t had a chance to talk to jurors to see what they thought was the problem," Cooper said, but added that the prosecutor’s office thought eyewitness accounts made their case strong.

"We also would have been happy to see fingerprints and a search warrant," but the attendant positively identified the perpetrator, he said.

"To that extent, we felt like we had to go forward with it and let a jury decide," Cooper said.

Defense attorney Roger Smith put alibi witnesses on the stand, and argued about the absence of a search warrant and fingerprints.

Cooper introduced eyewitness reports and argued that a security videotape showed what happened.

Twelve jurors returned a not guilty verdict.

The reliance in a videotape could have had an effect on investigations, Cooper suggested.

"They were confident the robbery was on film but by the time they found out how bad the tape was, it was too late," he said.

For Mrs. Lawson, the finding of innocence not only reflected what actually happened that November night, but also put an end to "nine months of hell."

The family had decided that if it took selling their home, they would fight for the truth, she said.

"We had a lot of information but it seemed nobody wanted to listen," Mrs. Lawson said.

And, the Lawsons have a different outlook now.

"I believe more in the court system than I do in the law," she said. "My son could have gone to prison for something he didn’t do."