State of Indiana v. Harold Leroy Bryan Jr.
Jan 07, 2019OUTCOME: Jry Trial - Not Guilty
Bank Robbery Case in June 2018 in which a little over $1000 was taken. The robbery itself involved a rather large person in dark sunglasses and a black ballcap wearing a zip up sweatshirt that was no ... zipped, dark shorts and long tube socks enter the bank, wait their turn and then approach the teller station with a note stating this is a robbery. Witnesses described the bank robber as 30-35, chunky some facial hair. Mr. Bryan was 47, 190 lbs and had no facial hair. The witnesses stated the were 100% sure Mr. Bryan was the bank robber after shown a black and white lineup. Video evidence from the bank and pictures where used for multiple reasons including: to show the differences between Mr. Bryan and the bank robber; that the witnesses did not see the robber for the length of time and detail as originally thought; and that witnesses in the bank were not interviewed. The lineup did not follow policies designed to develop fair line up. A big factor was the bank robber had not hair below the ball cap on the back of his head. Mr. Bryan was arrested 10 days latter and has a significant amount of hair. Pictures were taken by my staff to show Mr. Bryan's hair growth over a period of 1, 2,...10 days then again at 15 days, and 28 days to show Mr. Bryan's hair did not grow to match his arrest pictures in 28 days, let alone 10 days. The reason this case stood out was the amount of time necessary to give evidence to the jury that the bank robber was not Mr. Bryan. Trying to prove someone did not commit a crime is more difficult when you don't have someone else to argue did commit the crime, as we had no idea who the bank robber actually was.
