Jury deliberations continued this week for an accused Chula Vista bank robber who is also charged with strangling his cellmate while in jail.
The San Diego Superior Court jury considering the case against Clinton Thinn, 30, had Monday off because of the President’s Day holiday. They began deliberations on Feb. 15 over the the Dec. 3, 2016 slaying of Lyle Woodward, 30, in the central jail downtown.
Thinn was in jail after attempting to rob a Bank of America branch in Chula Vista on June 24, 2016. He is charged with five counts of attempted robbery, making a criminal threat, felony assault, and five counts of false imprisonment in the incident in which he fired an orange flare which struck a wall.
Thinn is awaiting trial in Chula Vista Superior Court on the bank robbery case. He is from New Zealand where his sister holds a major office in the New Zealand government.
Deputy District Attorney Karra Reedy urged jurors to convict him of first-degree murder, saying Thinn wrapped a ligature of some type around Woodward’s neck.
Threads from cloth were found in the toilet and it was believed that an article of clothing or a rag was used to strangle him from behind and then flushed. Reedy described it as a “cold calculated murder.”
Thinn did not testify but his attorney, Keenan Gultekin, said Thinn attacked Woodward in self-defense. He said Thinn had access to the commissary after someone put money on his account and Woodward was demanding Thinn to buy him coffee.
“He is allowed to protect himself. He’s allowed to stand his ground,” said Gultekin.
Gultekin said Thinn pushed the intercom to let sheriff’s deputies know Woodward needed medical attention. “That’s not someone who is trying to kill someone,” said Gultekin.
Gultekin acted out how Thinn could have wrapped an old shirt around Woodward’s neck until he passed out, which he said would only be “seconds.” He also illustrated how Woodward would push Thinn around, saying “give me coffee!”
According to testimony, both Woodward and Thinn tested positive for recent methamphetamine use. The other cellmate in the module testified under a grant of immunity and said he supplied meth to Woodward that got smuggled into the jail. Attorneys said Woodward must have given some to Thinn.
Gultekin said methamphetamine makes people act violently. He described Woodward as a bully, but a sheriff’s deputy testified Woodward was not like that.
Gultekin urged jurors to acquit on first and second-degree murder and suggested a verdict of voluntary manslaughter. However, he urged them to also acquit him of manslaughter and acquit him of everything.
Reedy responded in a strong rebuttal argument to the jury, saying Gultekin showed “a great story” to them, but noted Thinn didn’t testify. This scenario only comes from his attorney’s argument, which is not evidence, she argued.
“It’s very hard to think of self-defense when he’s strangled from behind,” said Reedy, who said there were “no facts for self-defense.”
Reedy also said wrapping a rag or a shirt around the neck would not result in loss of consciousness after mere seconds passed. “Lyle Woodward never saw it coming,” said Reedy.
