Murder suspect asks court to ban testimony
The defense for a Crystal Lake man charged in a murder in which only one punch was thrown is asking a judge to bar prosecutors from presenting testimony he was involved in a verbal altercation with a second man earlier the same night.
The altercation, according to testimony before a McHenry County grand jury last year, occurred when Dustin P. Goy spit on an acquaintance Sept, 9, 2007, inside The Cottage, a downtown Crystal Lake bar the men were at after attending a wedding.
Later that night, authorities say, Goy, 31, sucker-punched 45- year-old Crystal Lake resident Anthony Carlsen during a dispute outside the tavern. The blow, witnesses said, appeared to knock Carlsen out instantly, causing him to fall back and strike his head on the pavement.
Carlsen died a week later from a severe brain injury and Goy subsequently was indicted for first-degree murder and aggravated battery.
A defense lawyer said Wednesday that any testimony about Goy's actions involving another person inside the tavern should not be allowed at trial.
"The first contact between (Carlsen) and Dustin's group didn't happen until they were outside the bar," Goy attorney Todd Cohen said. "Anything that took place within the bar among his own friends is not relevant."
The dispute inside the bar, Cohen added, ended peacefully with no punches being thrown.
Prosecutors, however, may want to use evidence of the earlier altercation to show jurors Goy was acting raucously and perhaps looking for a fight the night he punched Carlsen. A Crystal Lake police detective testified to a grand jury that Goy said, "C'mon, let's go," to the man he spit on inside the bar and witnesses believed the two men were about to trade punches.
"We believe it is relevant to the defendant's state of mind on the night of the offense," Nichole Owens, criminal chief for the McHenry County State's Attorney, said Wednesday.
Judge Sharon Prather is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter Nov. 6.
No trial date for Goy has been set. When the case does go to trial, Goy intends to claim he acted in self-defense, according to court documents.