Judge Convicts Seaford Man of Lesser Murder Charge

By Kimberly Lenz Tuesday, June 08, 2010

A Seaford man was convicted this morning of second degree murder moments after the defense rested without putting on any witnesses.

Substitute Circuit Court Judge Thomas Nance ruled abruptly just after defense attorney Timothy Clancy had announced his client, Allen Dale Williams, would not testify and that the defense would rest. The trial began Monday morning and was expected to last three days.

A few minutes earlier, after the prosecution had rested and before a brief recess, Clancy made a motion to strike the first degree murder charge against Williams, who was accused of killing Thomas Ragans during a fight Nov. 15, 2009.  Williams came Ragans’ home to confront him about a suspected affair with his estranged wife, which Ragans eventually admitted. Clancy argued that the 911 call that captured part of the altercation between the men was “almost manslaughter personified.”

A manslaughter charge generally means there is a “heat of passion” during the events that lead to the death. “Heat of passion excludes reason,” Clancy said, pointing to the testimony a day earlier of Ragans’ wife Robin, who described the argument, and the 911 call played a second time for the court. “It doesn’t excuse it…but it can’t be first degree murder.” Clancy had made the same argument during a February hearing that certified charges to the grand jury.

Clancy pointed out assistant chief medical examiner Dr. Elizabeth Kinnison’s testimony Tuesday morning that Ragans’ death was caused by blunt force head injuries “consistent with a fall,” and not being struck.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Patricia Dart, who prosecuted along with Commonwealth’s Attorney Eileen Addison, urged the judge to deny Clancy’s motion. “Premeditation doesn’t have to exist for any length of time,” she said. The 12 hours between the time Williams saw Ragans at his estranged wife’s house and the fight was his deliberation, she said. The admission Ragans eventually produced “wasn’t good enough to Allen Williams,” whose actions then killed Ragans.

Judge Nance ruled against the motion.

When court resumed, Clancy announced Williams would not testify, and that the defense would rest without calling any witnesses. He renewed his motion to strike the first degree murder charge.

Dart asked to respond again to Clancy’s motion.

A manslaughter case, she said, put the “burden on the defendant to produce evidence to support that.” Further, Williams created the situation that led to Ragans’ death, she said, calling the affair that brought Williams to Ragans’ home “not reasonable provocation.” Dart also questioned why, if the death were an accident, Williams would flee.

Clancy responded by describing the evidence, which he said did not offer any explanation of how Williams and Thomas and Robin Ragans ended up tumbling down a flight of stairs.

“How do they get from the bench” near the foyer, Clancy asked. “You have to make that leap.”

Judge Nance said he “could make that leap,” adding that Williams pushed the couple down the stairs. “It’s a clear case of second degree murder,” he said.

The judge also found Williams guilty of charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit assault and unlawful wounding of Robin Ragans, who suffered a fractured collarbone and knee in the fall.

Williams’ mother, Rhonda Buchanan, stood and reached out to her son, crying his name moments after the verdict. She was taken from the courtoom to a waiting area, where paramedics were summoned to treat her. About 30 minutes later she left the courthouse on a stretcher.

Sentencing is set for August 17. A second degree murder charges carries a sentence of not less than five or more than 40 years.