Sullivan lawyer opposes witness

The judge in the impending Buckhead murder-for-hire trial of James Vincent Sullivan denied a defense motion Monday to bar testimony of a new witness — a Florida burglar and jewelry thief who claims Sullivan approached him as a backup killer in case "his first choice of hit men failed."

Sullivan allegedly arranged the murder of his estranged wife, Lita McClinton Sullivan, 35, who was gunned down at the door of her Buckhead townhouse 19 years ago by a killer concealing a 9 mm pistol behind a box of roses.

Prosecutors contend that the former Palm Beach, Fla., millionaire arranged the slaying to avoid losing his oceanfront mansion in a bitterly contested divorce.

The allegations of William Richard Hawley, 42, in letters last month to trial Judge John J. Goger and a prosecutor are "outrageous, bizarre and preposterous," defense lawyer Don Samuel argued, contending that Hawley made numerous other claims that cannot be substantiated.

Hawley, now held in the Indian River County Jail in Florida on theft charges, has a lengthy history of residential burglaries, in which he stole jewelry he sold to several people, including Sullivan.

Hawley claimed to have known Sullivan since 1986, according to his letter, prosecutors contend.

Hawley said in his letters that he agreed "to do the job" for $50,000 if the first attempt failed.

Trucker Phillip Anthony Harwood of Albemarle, N.C., arrested as the shooter 11 years after the slaying on the identification of a former girlfriend, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and accepting $25,000 for the killing.

Samuel argued that a two-hour videotaped interview of Hawley provided by prosecutors to Sullivan's attorneys included claims that are uncorroborated. "His absurd testimony includes lies that he acted as an extra alongside Robert DeNiro in a movie about 'a person on the run,' " Samuel argued.

Hawley also claimed to have burglarized the house of famed ex-Broward County Sheriff Nick Navarro and found a "huge cache of cocaine in the house." Navarro denies any cocaine was ever found in his house in a burglary.

"We have yet to find any shred of corroboration that he is believable," Samuel said of Hawley.

Assistant District Attorney Anna Green said she plans to call Hawley as a witness "in the second week of the trial, perhaps later." She said information he provides in his letter concerning Sullivan is "checking out so far — and that is what we are concerned with."

The judge also denied a defense motion to bar Harwood's testimony in Sullivan's trial, based on a handwritten letter last July in which the trucker wrote that he was "threatened" by prosecutors that if he did not "cooperate with the state his plea to voluntary manslaughter will be voided" and he will face a death penalty trial "on charges that have already been resolved."

Assistant District Attorney Kellie Hill responded that the manslaughter plea agreement was based on Harwood's promise to provide "truthful testimony" at Sullivan's murder trial.

Goger said he expected attorneys for both sides to pick a jury and four alternates from a panel of 60 and that opening statements and beginning testimony will begin Monday afternoon.