ONEIDA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Vance Reed’s bid for a new trial in the murders of a Oneida couple was denied today.
Reed is serving life in prison for September 14th, 2016, murders of Harry and Lorraine Brown Bear.
Reed’s appeal contends he was unlawfully stopped and seized before consenting to provide the DNA sample which tied him to the crime scene. But the court rejected the argument in a nine-page decision.
“Based on the record before us, we agree with the circuit court’s conclusion that this was a consensual encounter between law enforcement and Reed that did not amount to a seizure We are not persuaded that an innocent reasonable person would have felt forced to remain simply because an officer asked questions about serious crimes. Even if an innocent person would feel intimidated to stay, that does not necessarily transform the questioning into a seizure,” the court wrote. “Reed was not seized when he consented to provide a DNA sample. Therefore, the circuit court properly denied his motion to suppress the DNA evidence and subsequent statements to law enforcement as fruit of the poisonous tree.”
Reed, now 22, will first eligible for parole when he is 64.
