BANGOR, Maine — Two men charged with a November 2015 murder on Center Street in Bangor will be tried separately but most likely won’t testify against each other, according to officials involved in their cases.
Robert “Rocco” Hansley, 28, and Thomas “Ferg” Ferguson, 38, both of Brooklyn, New York, were arrested Nov. 27, 2015. Earlier that morning, they allegedly shot and killed Robert Mark Kennedy, 38, of Bangor and wounded Barry Jenkins, 41, who was visiting from Brooklyn, New York.
Originally, the two men were to be tried together before a jury, but Ferguson opted to waive a jury trial because a judge must provide a written rationale for his or her decision, while a jury does not, his attorney, Jeffrey Silverstein of Bangor, said Monday.
“Juries merely report a one- or two-word verdict,” Silverstein said. “Judges must offer a rationale,” he said. “It’s much easier for juries to come to a conclusion because juries don’t have to justify their decisions. They can make them for any reason.”
Superior Court Justice William Anderson on May 8 issued his two-page decision after Ferguson filed a motion for a jury-waived trial and a speedy trial motion. Anderson considered the idea of holding a jury-waived trial for Ferguson and a jury trial for Hansley at the same time — but rejected it because it has never been done in Maine before.
“The court is concerned about the awkwardness of conducting a Ferguson jury-waived trial simultaneously with a Hansley jury trial, and the possibility of prejudice to a defendant that could result,” the judge wrote. “To the court’s knowledge there is no precedent for employing such a procedure in conducting a homicide trial in this state. The lack of predictability concerning the issues that could arise, and the impact of those issues upon the jury also gives the court significant pause.”
Ferguson’s trial before Anderson is set to begin May 24 and take 10 days to two weeks to complete.
Hansley will be tried by a jury. A date for his trial has not been set but could be held in August.
Silverstein also said Monday that the evidence would establish that Hansley was the “single and only shooter.”
The slaying does not appear to be drug related but a single motive is not clear to him from the evidence, Silverstein said.
Hansley’s attorney, Kaylee Folster of Bangor, declined to comment Monday on the decision.
The prosecution opposed separate trials but understands why the judge made that decision, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese, head of the criminal division at the Maine attorney general’s office, said Monday in an email.
She also said that the state would not call Ferguson or Hansley as witnesses at each other’s trials.
“Neither man can be compelled to testify on behalf of the state against the co-defendant,” Marchese said.
Jenkins was found by police on the front steps of 201 Center Street on Nove. 27, 2015, with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, according to a police affidavit. Kennedy’s body had multiple gunshot wounds and was found inside the apartment draped over a DVD rack near a window.
Hansley and Ferguson are charged with murder and elevated aggravated assault. Ferguson also is charged with tampering with a victim.
They have pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, each man faces 25 years to life in prison on the murder charges and up to 30 years in prison if convicted of elevated aggravated assault.
Ferguson faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of tampering with a witness.