Lemons gets 22 years

Claims victim’s abusive nature was stressor that sparked the crime

DIXON – According to Eric Lemons, his childhood was filled with abuse at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend, who often beat him senseless and made him stand facing a wall for hours on end.

So when he learned that Todd Harn was abusing Harn’s then-pregnant roommate, Kaylyn Gideon, and her 2-year-old child, “it brought out my childhood pain,” the 30-year-old Ashton man testified Thursday at his sentencing.

That pain and Harn’s provocation led him to bash Harn “at least three times” in the head with a 7-pound rock on April 5, 2009.

Lee County Judge Ron Jacobson said Thursday that he believes Lemons feels remorse for killing Harn, but the “brutal and heinous” crime warranted a sentence of 22 years in prison.

With day-for-day credit in prison, coupled with 838 days credit for time served in the Lee County Jail awaiting trial, Lemons could be out in about 9 years. He has 30 days to appeal the sentence.

Lemons originally was charged with first-degree murder, which includes an element of premeditation. He pleaded guilty June 14 to second-degree murder after prosecutors conceded that he acted under “intense provocation” that night, making it a crime of passion.

Lemons’ loss of control didn’t go far with the judge.

There were other avenues he could have explored that night, Jacobson said, such as reporting the abuse to the police or the Department of Children and Family Services.

“I think that he knew when he went over there that it was the wrong thing to do, but he did it anyway,” Jacobson said.

Lee County Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Buh prosecuted the case.

“There are no winners in this case, only losers – the Harn family, the Lemons family and society,” Buh said after sentencing. “This was an unfortunate event with unusual circumstances.”

Lemons’ attorney, Lee County Public Defender Bob Thompson, called the sentence fair.

“I’m sure that Eric is relieved,” Thompson said. “I think he was absolutely sincere in his statement to the judge.”

Harn and Lemons family members, sheriff’s deputies, detectives and County Board members filled the courtroom during the daylong hearing.

Turning to Harn’s family, Lemons apologized, saying “there is no excuse” for the killing. “I don’t ever expect forgiveness for that,” he said.

Both he and Gideon took Jacobson through the events of that night. Their stories differed significantly.

According to Lemons:

He recently had moved in with a cousin to help her take care of her six children. To make ends meet, he worked at Crest Foods in Ashton.

He met Harn and Harn’s male roommate at a local bar and began to hang out with the two, who often held “after hours” parties at their apartment, which they shared with Gideon, Lemons said.

Several times, he saw Harn call Gideon’s young son names and once saw him blow marijuana smoke in the boy’s face. He also heard Harn was “pimping out” Gideon and forcing her to sell cigarettes on the street corner, he testified.

On April, 4, 2009, he was at the apartment several times, drinking and smoking marijuana with them. Early the next day, a drunken Lemons went back to the apartment to talk to Harn about his abuse of Gideon and her son.

“I knew that a confrontation might occur,” Lemons said. “I was ready for that.”

He denied being “infatuated” with Gideon, and said he was “angry at her for putting her kid in that situation.”

He confronted Harn, who pushed him to the ground. Lemons elbowed Harn in the face, dropping him to one knee, then ran up and kicked Harn in the face. He kept on kicking him in the face once he hit the ground, he said.

Finally, Lemons took a rock that was used as a doorstop and hit Harn three or four times in the head, he testified.

Gideon didn’t appear to be upset that Harn was dead. She began touching him, which led to the two having sex near Harn’s body, he said.

“I’m ashamed I let any of it happen. We both agreed that it was not right and stopped.”

According to Gideon:

She and her son had been living with Harn and the male roommate about a month. Harn was “mean” and an “abusive person,” and at one point tried to get her to prostitute herself and give Harn the money, she testified.

The night before the murder, Harn threatened her into having sex with the male roommate and his friend, she said.

The night of the murder, Gideon was asleep in her bedroom with her son when she heard what sounded like “something heavy hitting the wall.” When she heard it again, she came out of her room and saw Lemons.

“Todd’s dead. I killed him,” he said as he led her into the living room.

Lemons then told her that there was a “hit” out on her, her child, Harn, and the third roommate. He was the hit man, he said, and after he killed them, he was supposed to burn down the building. He told her he couldn’t bring himself to kill her, she testified.

(In his testimony, Lemons denied telling Gideon he was a hit man, calling the claim “preposterous.”)

Lemons ransacked a few rooms, then asked her to have sex with him, saying “I’m probably going to go to jail for a while after this.” She initially refused, then gave in, Gideon said.

Gideon, 23, is awaiting trial on a charge of obstructing justice. Police say she gave Lemons cleaning supplies to cover up his fingerprints.