The trial for a Clarksville man accused of murder is underway now in Charles City, with the prosecution’s key witness testifying. Twenty-five-year-old James Raymond is charged in the death of 20-year-old Jesse Patchin of Waterloo. Authorities say Raymond stabbed Patchin during a drug deal in early October 2005, near Nashua. Patchin’s body was found in rural Floyd County on January 23rd, 2006, nearly three months after Raymond was arrested.
The principal witness for the prosecution, Raymond’s uncle Charles Gallmeyer, took the stand yesterday. Gallmeyer says he was smoking meth with Patchin and Raymond in the hours before the murder. Gallmeyer says at about 5 o’clock that morning, he and Raymond drove to Nashua to buy cigarettes, and on the way back found Patchin walking down a gravel road. Both got out of the car, with Raymond pulling a knife and stabbing Patchin in the neck, with Gallmeyer watching and then eventually stabbing Patchin himself.
Gallmeyer, who is being held in the Floyd County Jail, agreed to testify against his nephew in exchange for a reduced charge.