U.S. v. Lentz, CR. 01-150-A.

• Decision Date: 07 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. CR. 01-150-A.,CR. 01-150-A.
• Citation: 275 F.Supp.2d 723
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America Plaintiff, v. Jay E. LENTZ, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia

Page 723

275 F.Supp.2d 723

UNITED STATES of America Plaintiff, v. Jay E. LENTZ, Defendant.

No. CR. 01-150-A.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia. Alexandria Division.

August 7, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Steve Mellin, Esquire, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office, Patricia Haynes, Esquire, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office, Alexandria, VA, Plaintiff's Counsel.

Frank Salvato, Esquire, Michael Liberman, Esquire, United States Public Defender's Office, Alexandria, VA, Defendant's Counsel.

AMENDED OPINION

LEE, District Judge.

THIS Matter is before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal, pursuant to Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The issue before the Court is whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction on Count I of the Indictment, which charges defendant Jay E. Lentz ("Jay Lentz") with kidnapping resulting in the death of his ex-wife, Doris Lentz ("Ms. Lentz"), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201.¹ The critical question before the Court is whether the government produced sufficient evidence to submit to the jury that Jay Lentz "kidnapped" Ms. Lentz, held her for ransom or otherwise and that her death resulted. There is no evidence Jay Lentz held or detained Ms. Lentz as a part of a kidnapping. This fatal flaw requires the Court to grant the Defendant's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal and to dismiss this case.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Disappearance of Ms. Lentz

Ms. Doris Lentz disappeared April 23, 1996. Several of Ms. Lentz's friends and co-workers and Ms. Lentz's mother testified at trial that Ms. Lentz told them that she was going to her ex-husband, Jay Lentz's home to pick up her daughter, Julia Lentz ("Julia"), on April 23, 1996. Several days after her disappearance, Ms. Lentz's car was found abandoned with blood stains and her personal effects inside. Five years later, the federal government charged Jay Lentz with kidnapping resulting in death in connection with Ms. Lentz's disappearance. Defendant's trial began on June 2, 2003, more than two years after he was originally indicted.

The government's theory of the case was that Jay Lentz set out to commit the perfect crime, to murder his wife so he would not have to pay child support and other payments in connection with a contested divorce. The government argued that the evidence showed that Jay Lentz used his four-year-old daughter as a lure to attract his ex-wife to his home while their daughter was out of town so he could murder her and dispose of the body. The government argued that Jay Lentz arranged for Julia to visit Julia's paternal grandparents in Indiana and that Ms. Lentz could pick the child up after the grandparents' visit on Tuesday, April 23, 1996, at Jay Lentz's home in Fort Washington, Maryland. Evidence adduced at trial showed that the child flew to Indiana alone without her father and that her return flight was set for Saturday, April 27, 1996, not April 23, 1996. The government's evidence showed that Ms. Lentz told her best friend, her co-workers and relatives that she was going to pick up her daughter at Jay Lentz' home on April 23, 1996.

The government further argued that Jay Lentz lured his ex-wife over to his house under the pretense that Ms. Lentz was coming to pick up their daughter after her return from Indiana. Upon Ms. Lentz's alleged arrival at Jay Lentz's home, the government maintains that Jay Lentz killed Ms. Lentz; wrapped her body in a large blue tarp; stuffed her body into the front passenger seat of her own car; drove the car to an undisclosed location where he dumped the body; and abandoned the car in Washington, D.C., making it look like foul play was involved.

The police, FBI, friends, and family of Ms. Lentz conducted numerous searches near Jay Lentz's home, in an effort to recover her body. Unfortunately, Ms. Lentz's body has never been recovered, and she has not been seen or heard from since April 23, 1996. On April 24, 2001, the Defendant was charged in a three-count Indictment.² Count One charges Jay Lentz with Kidnapping Resulting in the Death of Ms. Lentz, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a). Count Two charges Jay Lentz with Kidnaping in violation of the same statute. Count Three charges Jay Lentz with Interstate Domestic Violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261(a)(2), i.e., causing a spouse or partner to travel across state lines by force or coercion with the intent to commit a crime of violence injuring the spouse or partner.

B. The Evidence at the Close of the Government's Case in a Light Most Favorable to the Government

On a Rule 29 Motion for Judgment of Acquittal a court must view the facts in a light most favorable to the government. In this light, the Court finds that the following facts were established throughout the course of Jay Lentz's trial.

Jay Lentz and Ms. Lentz were married in 1989. In 1991, their daughter, Julia, was born. The marriage was rocky. There were periods of marital discord leading to their separation in 1993. Jay Lentz was deployed in the Persian Gulf overseas during Operation Desert Storm. When he returned, the marriage was ending. The marital discord continued, and the police were called to the Lentz residence at least once to quell a domestic argument.

Rev. Lauren Gough, a clergy person at Ms. Lentz's former church, testified that Jay Lentz and Ms. Lentz had previously sought marriage counseling from her. Rev. Gough testified that Ms. Lentz was so afraid to tell Jay Lentz that she wanted a divorce that she had requested Rev. Gough, and Rev. Gough agreed, to be present at their home when she told Jay Lentz she was leaving him. Rev. Gough testified that the Defendant's reaction to this bad news was "very controlled, yet tense reaction to the news." Rev. Gough said that shortly thereafter Jay Lentz asked Rev. Gough to leave. However, on cross-examination, Rev. Gough conceded that she had never seen any bruises on Ms. Lentz, even when she saw Ms. Lentz several weeks after she told Jay Lentz that she wanted a divorce.

The parties separated in January 1993. Ms. Lentz's first divorce attorney, Ms. Cheryl Hepfer, testified that Ms. Lentz left the marital home on January 5, 1993.

Soon after Ms. Lentz moved out of the marital home, she temporarily relocated back to her mother's home in Tennessee. The couple's divorce was resolved by the Maryland court in July 1995; however, there were issues of child support and division of marital property remaining before the court.

Ms. Lentz' divorce lawyer, Ms. Hepfer, testified that Ms. Lentz was entitled to half of the couple's property under Maryland law. The parties did not have a lot of assets to divide. The marital home was the largest asset. The divorce was contentious. The parties fought hard about marital share of the equity in the home and child support. During the divorce, there were many angry exchanges of words, notes, and telephone messages. Ms. Hepfer and a second divorce lawyer testified that Jay Lentz's challenges to Ms. Lentz's view of her entitlements made the divorce attorney's fees exceed the value of the equity in the home. Additionally, Ms. Hepfer stated that Jay Lentz was recalcitrant and that he consistently refused to provide relevant discovery information freely to aid in the division of the assets. Ms. Hepfer testified that he had problems paying his child support payments on time and that he owed Ms. Lentz back child support. The evidence revealed that Mr. Lentz was delinquent in the payment of child support. In April 1996, a Maryland Court found that the Defendant was in arrears for $572.00. However, Ms. Lentz claimed the delinquent amount to be $3,882.00. During the trial, Ms. Bonnie Butler, Ms. Lentz's second divorce attorney, testified that the Defendant owed $4,500.00 in back child support to Ms. Lentz, and ultimately the Maryland Circuit Court applied a wage garnishment to his pay to have the payments deducted from his paychecks, in the amount of $465.00 per month.

The government called several witnesses to testify that Ms. Lentz was afraid of the Defendant, and to show various statements Jay Lentz made demonstrating his hatred of Ms. Lentz.

Sometime after relocating to Tennessee, Ms. Lentz decided to return to Arlington, Virginia, to live. According to Mr. Tim O'Brien, Ms. Lentz's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, Ms. Lentz's fear of Jay Lentz caused her to choose the apartment building where she lived because of the safety features that it offered. Mr. O'Brien testified that Ms. Lentz parked in a controlled-access underground garage, that the building also had controlled access, that she informed the building management not to allow Mr. Lentz up to her apartment, and that the two parents would exchange Julia downstairs in the lobby.

The government called Ms. Hepfer and Ms. Butler, Ms. Lentz's first and second divorce attorneys, respectively, to testify about their knowledge of Ms. Lentz's fear of Jay Lentz. Ms. Hepfer testified that she knew that Ms. Lentz taped all of her telephone conversations with Jay Lentz.

Ms. Laura Munson, a close friend of Ms. Lentz's, also testified that one time Ms. Lentz came to her home after an argument with Jay Lentz where Ms. Lentz told her that Jay Lentz assaulted her. Ms. Munson took pictures of Ms. Lentz's arms which showed bruises. Ms. Munson stated that the Defendant called her house looking for Ms. Lentz because he thought that his wife might be staying at Ms. Munson's place because of the argument.

Ms. Ruth Chauvin, a former occupational health nurse at the Senate Building, where Ms. Lentz used to work before the parties divorce testified as well. Ms. Chauvin testified that Ms. Lentz came to her office and that she noted bruises on Ms. Lentz's arm on one occasion. Ms. Chauvin became friends with Ms. Lentz over the course of Ms. Lentz's employment at Senator James Sasser's office.

Mr. Kevin McSwain, a Prince George's...