SANTA ANA : Man Gets 25 Years in Murder Conspiracy

A judge sentenced a New York man to 25 years to life in prison Friday for conspiracy to commit murder in the Dixie Dyson case, despite pleas for leniency from five of his jurors who now say they may have made a mistake.

In October, the jurors acquitted George Ira Lamb of a murder charge in the Nov. 17, 1984, stabbing death of Mel Dyson at his Huntington Harbour condominium. But they did convict Lamb, 27, of conspiracy to commit murder by planning it with Dixie Dyson, the victim’s common-law wife, and her boyfriend, Enrico Vasquez.

A majority of the jurors were surprised later to learn that conspiracy carries the same 25-year sentence as murder. Several said they would have voted to acquit Lamb of both counts if they had known the penalty.

Dixie Dyson has already been convicted of murder and conspiracy in the killing, and Vasquez’s trial is expected to begin in March. Dyson, the key witness against Lamb, is not expected to be sentenced until after she testifies at Vasquez’s trial.

Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin on Friday denied a request by Lamb’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jeff Lund, to give the defendant a break on sentencing in light of the jurors’ reaction and Lamb’s clean record.

“From what I see on the surface, Mr. Lamb is an upstanding young man,” McCartin said. “But this was a cold, calculated, first-degree murder straight up. They planned it; they got results.”

Juror Tony J. LaPetina of Garden Grove wrote that a 25-year sentence for Lamb would be “outrageous and inappropriate.” Juror Colleen M. Brown of Buena Park wrote, “I do not feel it is fair that he (Lamb) should be forced to serve the same sentence as Dixie, who was convicted of the murder, which I feel is a worse crime.”

The five jurors made their comments in written responses to a questionnaire from Lund’s office.

The jurors all stated they believed Lamb had withdrawn from the conspiracy and that both Dixie Dyson and Enrico Vasquez were aware he had withdrawn. They all said that if they had been given a jury instruction on conspiracy withdrawal, they would not have voted Lamb guilty of conspiracy.

But McCartin told the lawyers he could not legally consider their comments.

The problem for the judge was that although lawyers are allowed to interview jurors afterward, they cannot then return to court with information that the jurors have since second-guessed themselves.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles J. Middleton, who prosecuted Lamb, said that jurors, after rendering their verdict, are no longer unbiased observers and are subject to outside influences.

“It was obvious several of the jurors were sympathetic to Lamb,” Middleton said, noting that Lamb’s young wife and 3-year-old son were in court during much of the trial. “It’s not surprising they might try to rationalize their decision once they found out the penalty for conspiracy.”

Lund said he should have asked the judge during the trial to include an instruction to jurors on withdrawal from a conspiracy. Lund said he didn’t, because it never occurred to him that the jurors would vote differently between conspiracy and murder.

Prosecutors contend Dixie Dyson and Vasquez wanted Mel Dyson dead because she could collect more than $200,000 on his life insurance. Dixie Dyson testified that Lamb not only agreed to participate for an undetermined share of the insurance but was the actual killer who carried out the plan.

While several jurors did feel strongly that Lamb was involved, they said they acquitted Lamb on the murder charge because Dyson’s testimony about the killing could not be corroborated. But there were motel receipts and other evidence of corroboration to back her claims that he was in California just before the murder and involved in the conspiracy, they said.