Indiana man convicted of 1980 murder of off-duty police officer working private security
CROWN POINT IN Sept 1 2018 — Jurors determined Friday night James Hill was guilty of murder while committing robbery and attempted robbery in the fatal shooting 38 years ago of off-duty Hammond policeman Lawrence “Larry” Pucalik at a Hammond hotel.
Hill was found not guilty of murder, but murder while committing robbery, or felony murder, carries the same penalty.
Prosecutors alleged at trial this week Hill admitted in a brief police interview in March 1981 he drove the “killer car” used in an attempted robbery Nov. 14, 1981, at Holiday Inn-Southeast, formerly at 3830 179th St. in Hammond.
Pucalik, 33, was fatally shot attempting to stop a robbery by two men, whom Hill allegedly identified during the interview as Larry Mayes and Pierre Catlett.
Within days of the officer’s shooting, officers had witnesses that linked Hill to a blue denim bag left at the crime scene and the 1973 Chevrolet Impala allegedly used to flee the hotel.
The evidence existed in 1981, but the case remained on the shelf until 2012.
By then, Hill and Mayes had sued the city of Hammond and its detectives for their wrongful convictions in the rape and robbery of a gas station attendant committed a month before Pucalik’s murder. Both men served lengthy sentences before their convictions were overturned in the 2000s.
Michael Solan Jr., a retired Hammond police captain and supervisor of the murder case, testified Thursday the decision not to prosecute Hill in 1981 for the officer’s shooting “rested on my shoulders.”
Solan, a defendant in both men’s lawsuits, said in 1981 he hoped to develop enough evidence to prosecute all three suspects — Hill, Mayes and Catlett — for the murder. He said they had “substantial evidence” against Hill, but insufficient evidence against Catlett and Mayes.
Both men were charged with Paculik’s murder in 2012. Mayes, 68, was declared medically incompetent to stand trial in March 2014. The state dismissed his case later that year.
The state is seeking to have 64-year-old Catlett extradited from Illinois to face trial in the murder. Catlett was until recently serving a 10-year prison sentence in Illinois for aggravated battery.
Defense attorney Scott King argued in a 45-minute closing statement Hill’s alleged confession was a fabrication and the state’s prosecution was retaliation for Hill’s lawsuit. King yelled, pleaded, mocked and shook with anger during the statement, claiming Hill’s prosecution was the greatest injustice he has seen in his 42 years as an attorney.
“They had every scrap of evidence since 1981,” he said. “They dare tell you this is a cold case. If it’s cold, it’s because of their refrigeration of the case.”
Deputy Prosecutor James Dillon defended the investigation and the prosecutor’s decision to file charges against Hill in the state’s first closing statement.
“This case is about the murder of a police officer; it’s not about a civil suit,” Dillon said.
He outlined the state’s case.
Three women said they saw Hill with the blue denim bag found at the crime scene on two occasions in October 1980.
The 1973 Chevrolet Impala, which was stolen from Gary, was found at an apartment complex near the hotel. Detectives determined it was the suspect vehicle after finding its missing hubcap in the grass outside the hotel, apparently knocked off after the getaway driver hit a curb.
A note in the vehicle contained a woman’s personal information and an emergency contact number for her mother. The woman told detectives she hid the note in the Impala two days before the shooting after Hill and a second man picked up her and a friend while they were hitchhiking to Gary.
No DNA or fingerprints connected any of the three men to the crime scene.
First Assistant Deputy Prosecutor Peter Villarreal said in the state’s final closing statement the jury would have to believe more than a dozen people conspired to frame Hill for the murder if they listened to King.
“Actions speak louder than words,” he said. “Look at his actions.”
Jury deliberations began about 3:30 p.m. and reached a verdict by about 7:30 p.m.
Hill, 55, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 3.
nwi.com
