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Although he had a penchant for telling
stories, Chuck Erickson only told three people. One
of these people told yet another person, who after drinking, reported what he
had been told to the police, and Chuck was arrested, March 10, 2004.
The interrogation process began with an
increasing amount of pressure from the police, as can be seen in the videos.
Due to this pressure, the police got exactly
what they wanted: Chuck's self-professed bad dream became his reality, which
ultimately led to his Oct. 1, 2004 "proffer" (Police Report No. 332).
He was offered and granted a plea bargain in return for
his testimony against Ryan Ferguson.
This plea appears to be motivated by Chuck
and his family who would have been in panic mode, in fear that Ryan might plea
before Chuck.
What a great situation for the prosecutor!
But what about the truth?
Chuck Erickson was offered a charge of
second-degree murder and first-degree robbery, which each carried a penalty
of 15 years. But Chuck will be serving the two penalties concurrently.
Without the plea bargain, he could have been
charged with first-degree murder, which, at the time, carried a possible death
penalty sentence, or life in prison without parole.
We strongly believe that faced with a death
sentence or life in prison, Chuck conveniently revised his story as often and as
necessary to incriminate Ryan Ferguson and help the police "solve" this
murder case.
The police needed a witness and they made a
deal with Erickson. To save himself from a long sentence, he lied to support the
prosecutor. This is why the whole story makes no sense. !!!!!!!!!!!
This is why he confessed ... he felt he was
going down and 25 years was a lot better than 40 years. It all came down to the
number of years he would be incarcerated.
Chuck Erickson is scheduled to serve a
maximum of 12 years instead.
Whatever the reason for Chuck's false
confession, he was persuaded to plea bargain in exchange for testimony against
Ryan.
The process by which Chuck's earliest
words were revised and altered to fit the facts of the case is evident in the
continually evolving videos, signed statements, and testimony.
Failure to work out a confession to the
satisfaction of the state could have resulted in Chuck being charged with
first-degree murder.
Yes, Chuck was very motivated to make a
deal. The prosecutor made it clear to Chuck that if Ryan was not convicted,
their "plea deal" would be off and the charges against him could be far
worse.
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