JAMES DULAK |
Jury convicts quickly in case tied to Antigo By MIKE DESOTELL
EagleHerald staff writer
It took a jury of seven men and five women about a half hour to reach a guilty verdict against James Dulak.
Dulak, 46, of Weston, formerly of Menominee, Mich. was found guilty Tuesday of first degree intentional felony murder in the May, 2008 beating death of Mark Keller.
Keller, 49, was found dead on the floor of his trailer home on Bay de Noc Road in Menominee Township the morning of May 12, 2008.
The prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments Tuesday morning. Menominee County Circuit Court Judge Richard Celello then read a lengthy list of instructions to jury members about how they were to proceed. Ironically, his instructions took longer than the deliberations.
After a brief deliberation, the judge and attorneys were notified immediately and family members and reporters in the hallway were told to make their way back into the courtroom. The jury was returning.
In the courtroom, the jury foreman handed the verdict sheet to the bailiff, who in turn presented it to the clerk.
"Members of the jury, listen to your verdict as it will be recorded," she said. "We the jury find James Anthony Dulak guilty of first- degree felony murder. So say you Mr. Foreperson?" "Yes," he responded. "So say you members of the jury?" "Yes," they responded in unison.
Prosecuting attorney Dan Hass said he was confident the defense would appeal but that he had to start focusing on the trial of Guy Buck, of Antigo, one of the other men who was with Dulak and Keith Benson when the murder took place. His trial begins Jan. 11.
The Dulak trial lasted seven days from jury selection to verdict and featured more than 200 pieces of evidence. "I have never dealt with a case with this many witnesses and this many complexities and this much evidence," said Hass.
Dulak, Buck and Keith Benson were arrested just north of Antigo the day of the murder attempting to sell guns that came from the Keller home.
The discovery of those weapons led to the original arrests and when the origin of the guns was searched, the murder in Michigan was uncovered.
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