Shift of venue sought in burglary trial

1/19/2008

The attorney of one of the brothers charged in a triple homicide has asked a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge to grant a change-of-venue motion for his client's unrelated burglary trial.

Attorney Jack Viren filed the motion yesterday on behalf of Goldy Thompson, who is set to go to trial Tuesday in Judge Charles Doneghy's courtroom on a burglary charge.

In an unrelated case, Thompson, 30, and his brother Stoney Thompson, 28, were arraigned Thursday on three counts of aggravated murder with gun specifications.

The brothers are accused of killing three men - Kenneth Nicholson; his brother-in-law, Todd Archambeau, and Michael York.

Their bodies were found Oct. 24, 2006, inside a boarded-up house at 410 Ohio St. in North Toledo, where Archambeau lived.

Authorities said all three were shot and two were stabbed.

According to the motion in the burglary case, "a change of venue is necessary in this case because extensive and ongoing pretrial publicity regarding the defendant's recent indictment in an unrelated triple homicide makes it presumptively impossible to seat an impartial jury in this county."

Several newspaper articles as well as times of television news reports were attached to the motion.

"Potential jurors will be exceptionally susceptible to bringing the 'alleged triple murderer' to justice to demonstrate that they are capable of doing the 'right' thing by keeping him off the streets even though this matter is unrelated," the motion said.

Judge Doneghy has not ruled on the motion.

Goldy Thompson, who served five years starting in 1997 for an involuntary manslaughter conviction, was sentenced Sept. 20 to 10 months in prison after pleading no contest to and being found guilty of possession of crack cocaine.

He is being held in the Lucas County jail.

Stoney Thompson is incarcerated at the Toledo Correctional Institution after being sentenced July 17 to two years in prison for having a weapon while under disability.