Trial begins in Wasilla teen assault case

PALMER -- Jury selection took place Tuesday in Palmer Superior Court, and Wednesday saw opening arguments before Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler in the case of a Valley teen being tried as an adult for the alleged brutal beating of another boy in April.

Ricky Shivers, 17, of Wasilla, faces three charges of first-degree assault for allegedly beating and stabbing the victim, who he believed had been out with Shivers' girlfriend.

Wasilla Police officers responded on the morning of Apr. 28 to a 911 call placed by the girlfriend, who said that one of the boys had stabbed the other and was on his way to a hospital with the injured teen. Officers reportedly intercepted the car as it headed into the parking lot of the Valley Hospital Medical Center, which was closed at the time.

Police called an ambulance to take the injured boy to Valley Hospital, where according to police reports, he was treated in the emergency room and subsequently transferred to the intensive care unit at Valley Hospital, suffering from severe facial trauma, multiple skull fractures, and superficial stab wounds.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Gernat stressed as she opened the prosecution's case that the incident had not been a fight between two teenage boys, but rather a brutal attack of one on the other. She described the scene as the victim and the girlfriend, with whom Shivers had reportedly argued earlier in the evening, drove up to a Wasilla residence to find Shivers waiting with a knife. According to Gernat, Shivers attacked the victim, later admitting to police that he had punched the boy 40 to 50 times.

"I didn't want him to die, I just wanted to beat him up," Shivers reportedly told officers about the assault, which left the victim unconscious.

"He can't close his mouth properly," said Gernat of the victim's current condition. "His front teeth are now behind his back teeth, and he doesn't walk right anymore."

Defense Attorney Eugene Cyrus in his opening statement described the incident as a fist fight in which Shivers got the upper hand. Shivers, "jealous, mad, confused" over what he believed was betrayal by his friend and his girlfriend, was only going to threaten the victim with the knife when the struggle ensued and got out of hand.

Cyrus said there was no serious injury with the knife -- which accounted for one of the first-degree assault charges -- but only surface wounds, and asked that the first count of first-degree assault be reduced to second-degree for that reason.

Cyrus went on to characterize Shivers as totally remorseful, thinking "What have I done?" as he realized he had to get the victim to a hospital. He said Shivers was responsible for the victim's injuries, but did not ever intend it.

In summary, Cyrus said the case was about friendship and betrayal, with alcohol as a factor.

Following opening statements, the prosecution called the girlfriend to the stand.

The teenage girl said she and Shivers had a fight earlier in the evening after they had been drinking together, and she had left with the victim, later having sex with him in her car before returning to her house. She said Shivers met them in the driveway, pulling out a knife and yelling accusations. She said it looked like Shivers stabbed the victim. Terrified, she ran into the house and locked the door before calling 911.

She looked out the window and saw Shivers punching the victim outside the car, and then Shivers came to the door and asked her to open it.

Sobbing, she told the jury "I was scared of him."

The girl related that for about 10 minutes, as she remained on the telephone with the 911 call, Shivers would go from the window and beat the victim up again before returning to the window to talk to her. She said Shivers was drinking and appeared to be drunk, and the victim was not drinking.

Finally she saw Shivers putting the victim in the car, saying he was taking him to the hospital.

The prosecution then played a tape of the 911 call, and called to the stand the Wasilla police officer who responded to the call.

Officer Kenneth Conn testified that he received the dispatch call for a possible stabbing and a description of the car that enabled him to identify it. He caught up with the car in the medical center parking lot and saw Shivers pulling a man out of the back seat.

Conn testified that Shivers complied with his orders once approached by the officer. He handcuffed Shivers, and called an ambulance to the scene.

Under defense cross-examination, Conn said he photographed a knife with a broken tip in the car, and found blood on a rear tire and inside the passenger rear door.

Before the prosecution's next witness was called, Cutler excused the jury and Cyrus advised the court that the prosecution had agreed to reduce the first count of first-degree assault to second-degree assault in exchange for a no-contest plea to that charge by the defendant. Shivers was brought to the stand and entered the plea.

Cutler then advised the jury of the plea agreement and said they would be deliberating only on two of the original three counts of first-degree assault.

The victim took the stand next, describing the events on the evening of the incident and his efforts to defend himself against the knife. He told of his fear and his memory of the punches that knocked him unconscious; that he woke up four or five days later in a hospital room.

He said he could not remember a lot of the treatment, but did remember examinations by a neurological doctor and a dentist, and told of seeing additional doctors in California, and of having more tests.

"My teeth aren't normal anymore," he said. "I used to have nice teeth, and now I can only chew on one side of my mouth."

He described the lasting effects of his injuries, the "weird" feeling when he touches his head, tingling and numbness, and loss of balance.

"I don't do as many things as I did before," he said.

Under cross examination, the victim said Shivers had since asked for and received his forgiveness, saying that he [Shivers] did not know what he was doing and that he was sorry.

He said he hoped they could fix his jaw, although it had healed already and he did not know whether it could still be repaired.

Concerning the cognitive effects of his injuries, the victim said his mother told him he is "calmer and slower."

"I can't make funny jokes right after someone says something funny," he said. "My mind skills aren't up to date."

"I have to practice thinking."

The remaining cognitive problems were confirmed by the prosecution's next witness, a relative of the victim who said before the incident the victim had been "very energetic and on the go."

"Now it seems like he's in a daze all the time. It's weird."

The prosecution's final witness Wednesday was Wasilla Police Investigator Jean Achee, who testified he investigated the car before taking Shivers to the police department where he was photographed and questioned. Achee said he then went to Valley Hospital to interview the victim.

"In my view he was very traumatized," said Achee, describing the swelling of the victim's head and the multiple bruises. He related the difficulties he faced in trying to interview the victim, who would first moan and cry and then begin to try and jump up and yell "Stop!"

Giving up on the interview of the victim, Achee said he left the hospital and investigated the scene, taking photographs and finding blood and a black flashlight at the scene.

Achee related that he tried again to interview the victim in the hospital on May 1, but he was in and out of consciousness. On May 9, he contacted the victim again and photographed him.

The photographs, the knife and knife blade, the flashlight and a ring were admitted into evidence.

At the end of the day Wednesday, the jury heard Achee's taped interview with the defendant, Ricky Shivers. The trial continues this week.