A real estate agent who accused a West Pittsburg man of raping her in an empty Jefferson Township home she was showing him on June 11 had her eyewitness identification called into question Tuesday.
She identified Michael R. Tackett, 38, as her rapist in court. Tackett’s defense attorney, Thomas W. Leslie, argued before Common Pleas Judge Thomas R. Dobson that when police showed the victim a photo of Tackett outside a normal lineup, it was “unduly suggestive.”
By seeing that photograph, Leslie said all later identifications of Tackett by the woman would be tainted and violate Tackett’s constitutional rights.
Dobson said police didn’t use the best practices when they showed the woman a single picture of Tackett outside a lineup, but that it wasn’t necessarily unduly suggestive, especially considering how much time she spent with the accused rapist.
“It’s an easy call,” Dobson said. He denied the motion, and the victim’s identification can be used in court.
The victim said she spent more than two hours going over a property with Tackett before he raped her. After he raped her, he threatened her, she said. He told her he would know if she went to police, that he would hurt her family, and that her husband wouldn’t want her.
During the blackmail session, she said she was face-to-face with Tackett and sought to “burn his image” into her mind for about 10 minutes.
She said she was a “detail-oriented” person and recounted his appearance: fine hair, unnoteworthy rims on his glasses, round face, light mustache, prominent beard, the type of clothing he wore down to his shoes, and the smell of cigarettes and someone who hadn’t showered.
She also identified Tackett’s car, and was able to point it out from a block away while driving through West Pittsburg with her husband, police said.
Tackett used the false identity “Randy Michaels” at one of the real estate agent’s open houses and asked her to show him a secluded property with a lot of acreage, she said.
After showing him a Seidle Road home, they went over a tax map in the kitchen when he approached her from behind, told her he had a gun, threatened to kill her, and raped her, she said. Later, he showed her a knife and read her address off in front of her.
He told her she was one of the “lucky ones” who would live, because she had children, she said.
The victim said she went to her office afterwards, where she met a friend and her husband. They went through a sex offender registry and saw several photographs, one of which looked a little like the man who raped her, but wasn’t quite right.
Using that photograph plus a description of the differences, a Neshannock Township policeman said it sounded like someone he was familiar with.
Assistant District Attorney Ryan Bonner argued that by looking at several photos, including one very similar to Tackett and still knowing it wasn’t him, it was unlikely any additional photos shown by police would be unduly suggestive.
Tackett was charged with rape in 2003 and 2005 in Lawrence County and acquitted both times, according to court documents.
Now he faces charges in Mercer County of rape, intimidating witnesses, aggravated indecent assault, making terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, possessing a weapon, and sexual assault.
Tackett had his bond reduced to $100,000 in December due to medical needs for his back. He has since posted bond and was set free. Police have warned he is “potentially dangerous.”
