Convicted Murderer Won't Get New Trial

An appellate court on Friday struck down a ruling that would have given convicted murderer Thomas Wayne Patterson a new trial.

Circuit Judge Linda Babb granted a new trial last year after finding that Patterson's trial attorney failed him by not calling alibi witness Charles Spriggs to testify.

The omission prejudiced Patterson because Spriggs' testimony would have pointed to another man as the killer and might have changed the trial's outcome, Babb ruled.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal disagreed, writing in a 24-page opinion that attorney Michael Tewell made a tactical decision not to call Spriggs based on his felony record and history of drug use.

Tactical decisions made by defense attorneys at trial cannot be used to later argue ineffective representation.

'Mr. Spriggs was a 'loose cannon,'

' the appellate decision states. 'He made conflicting statements, and he had major credibility problems. ... Indeed, it is fair to say that a decision by Mr. Tewell to call Mr. Spriggs as a witness at trial would have been both ill-advised and reckless.'

Patterson had been housed in Land O' Lakes Jail with bail set at $150,000 pending the outcome of his appeal. The appellate court ordered him back to the Department of Corrections, where he will continue serving a life sentence.

The 38-year-old Ridge Manor man was convicted in 1998 of second-degree murder for shooting James Alan Dunn, 38, at his Puckett Road home in Dade City on Aug. 8, 1997. He bled to death after bullets from a .38-caliber pistol pierced an artery in his leg.

At trial, prosecutors argued Patterson's decision to shoot Dunn was fueled in part by a methamphetamine binge that had kept Patterson awake for at least three days. They also argued that a third man, David Long, goaded Patterson into the shooting by complaining that Dunn had failed to return Long's vehicle after working on it.

Spriggs would have testified that he confronted Long about the shooting and Long responded by hanging his head and walking away.