| Man pleads not guilty after paralyzed victim dies |
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CLEVELAND (AP) -A man who spent six years in prison for shooting a former Baltimore Colts player pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge after the victim died of a kidney infection 27 years after he was paralyzed by a bullet in the spine. Victor Gomez, 44, who is in prison serving 41 years to 85 years for sexual assaults, was arraigned by video hookup to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in the May 28 death of Michael Woods, 54, at his home in suburban Richmond Heights. The case involves the longest period between a crime and indictment in Cleveland, according to the prosecutor's office. Woods, who lost the use of his arms and legs when he was shot in 1982, testified from a wheelchair at the defendant's initial trial in the shooting. Gomez was convicted of attempted aggravated murder. The judge scheduled a pretrial hearing on the murder charge for Tuesday. office cannot comment on the case until it has been resolved, spokesman Ryan Miday said. The defense attorney, John Pyle, said he had just gotten involved in the case and couldn't comment beyond his plans to research the double jeopardy issue - whether Gomez is being charged twice for the same crime. The defense's case also could hinge on trying to raise doubts with a jury about whether the victim's death - decades later - is a result of the shooting, according to Lewis Katz, a criminal law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The defense could offer medical testimony suggesting other possible reasons for the victim's death, Katz said. For the prosecution, the time between the shooting and the death is a hurdle, Katz said. ``The difficulty for the prosecution is going to be proving the facts - how many witnesses are still around if any,'' Katz asked. Woods' previous testimony is likely to be admissible at the murder trial and could be read to the jury, according to Katz. Woods, a linebacker, played for Cleveland's Benedictine High School and the University of Cincinnati before playing with the Colts from 1979-81. His career was ended by the shooting. left the group and, without warning, returned and shot Woods in the back of the head and robbed the other players. The bullet, which could not be safely removed, left Woods paralyzed. The victim's wife, Milyn McDowell Woods, told The Plain Dealer that her husband wasn't vindictive and didn't recognize Gomez' name when he was convicted last year of sexual assaults in Cleveland. ``He just looked at him as a kid that made a bad mistake,'' she told the paper. McDowell Woods couldn't be reached for further comment Friday. Calls to a phone listing under her name went unanswered. --- Associated Press writer M.R. Kropko in Cleveland contributed to this report. |
