Off The Ropes: The Ron Lyle Story. Candace Toft

shotgun wounds, as police first believed.

       A companion, Larry Williams, 23, suffered a minor head wound. He was treated at Denver General Hospital, jailed overnight for investigation and then released.

      January 23, 1962

       Jury of 14 to Hear Trial for Murder

       One of the first 14-member juries in state history was authorized Tuesday in Denver District Court for the murder trial of a basketball star facing a possible death penalty.

       Judge Gerald E. McAuliffe suggested the expanded panel and it was quickly approved by defense and prosecution attorneys as trial began for Ronnie Lyle.

       Lyle, a 6-feet 3½ inch forward for a Denver semipro team called the Boston All-Stars, is accused of killing one man and shooting another near Five Points May 16, 1961.

       Ordinarily, 12 jurors, with possibly one alternate, sit in criminal cases. New court rules, however, permit 14, which includes two alternates.

       The trial for the second shooting, in which case he is accused of assault with a deadly weapon, is scheduled for next month.

       Edward Carelli and Gil Alexander, deputy district attorneys, said they are seeking the death penalty in the current trial.

      January 25, 1962

       Slay Charge Filed After Gang Fight

       Murder charges and a separate charge of assault with a deadly weapon were filed Wednesday in District Court against Ronald D. Lyle, the outgrowth of a gang fight and shooting on May 16.

       Lyle admitted to police that he was the gunman who shot and killed Douglas Byrd, 22, and wounded Larry Williams, 23, during the fight in the Five Points area.

       Judge Saul Pinchick ordered that Lyle be held without bail on the murder charge. As a formality, the judge set bond on the assault charge at $3,000.

       Under the separate filings by Dist. Atty. Bert Keating, Lyle may be tried both for murder and for assault with a deadly weapon. Maximum punishment on the murder charge could be death in the gas chamber. Maximum punishment on the assault charge could be 14 years in prison.

       Police said a total of seven men were jailed after the shootings which killed Byrd and wounded Williams. The officers said the fight apparently was over a girl.

      January 27, 1962

       Saturday Judge Fines, Jails Murder Case Juror

       A Denver man chosen as a juror to decide the life-or-death fate of an accused murderer was himself jailed for 30 days and fined $500 late Friday for discussing the case.

       District Judge Gerald E. McAuliffe imposed the sentence on Carl McClung, 46, a transportation company dock worker.

       The judge convicted McClung of contempt of court after a dramatic day-long probe in court chambers during which two other jurors and City Councilman Kenneth MacIntosh testified.

       After the contempt conviction, the judge went to the bench in the courtroom, announced what had happened and declared a mistrial in the murder case of Ronnie Lyle 20, Denver basketball player accused of killing one man and shooting a second.

      Wednesday, May 2, 1962

       Jury of 14 picked in the Slay Trial of Denver Basketball Player

       The panel of eight men, four women and two male alternates was sworn in by District Judge Gerald E. McAuliffe after only two days of jury interrogation.

       In January, jury selection in the case consumed four days before a mistrial was declared because a juror was found guilty of discussing the case contrary to court order.

       Edward Carelli and Gil Alexander, deputy district attorneys, told the jury in an opening statement that the evidence would show that Lyle killed Byrd without provocation. . . .

       John Mueller and Dan Diamond, defense attorneys, are seeking acquittal on grounds that Lyle shot Byrd in self-defense. Lyle has been jailed with no bail permitted since the slaying.

      May 4, 1962

       Dying Man Took to Heels, Relates Slay Trial Witness

       Ronnie Lyle shot Douglas Byrd three times and then chased him down the alley, a witness testified Friday in Denver District Court.

       Benjamin Hall, 21, said he was sitting next to Byrd in the front seat of a pickup truck when Lyle pumped the bullets through the window.

       Hall said he was not struck during the shooting May 16, 1961, in an alley between Franklin and Gilpin Sts. off E. 31st Ave.

       Hall testified the shooting climaxed a continuing dispute that started with a fight at noon near Manual High School, over a girl he knew only as Lynn.

       On cross-examination by Dan Diamond and John Mueller, defense attorneys, Hall admitted the pickup truck driven by Byrd attempted several times that day to “curb” a Mercury sedan driven by Lyle. The cars finally met head-on in the alley.

       Hall said there was no conversation before Lyle came up to the truck and fired at Byrd. Although fatally wounded, Byrd got out of the truck and ran down the alley, with Lyle, a 6-foot-4-inch basketball player, in pursuit.

       The stricken Byrd apparently outran the forward for the Boston All-Stars, because Lyle came back and said, “You tell Flash (Byrd) that if I ever see him again I will kill him” the witness testified.

       About 90 minutes after the shooting Byrd died of his wounds.

       Larry Williams, 20, testified he was seated on the right of Hall in the truck's front seat and was struck in the back of the head by a bullet fired by someone. He identified Lyle as the man who shot Byrd, but he couldn't say if Lyle's gun inflicted his own wound.

       Defense attorneys contend that Lyle fired in self-defense and should be acquitted. Gill Alexander and Edward Carelli, deputy district attorneys, qualified the jury to return a possible death penalty.

      May 6, 1962

       Murder Case Jurors Get Glimpse of Alley Where Slaying Occurred

       Fourteen Denver District Court jurors Saturday went to an alley in northeast Denver to see where Douglas Byrd, 22, was shot three times on May 16, 1961.

       The jury was transported by sheriff's officers to the scene where Ronnie Lyle, 21, is charged with inflicting the fatal gunshot wounds as the climax to a bizarre gang fight.

       Edward Carelli and Gil Alexander, deputy district attorneys, are expected to conclude their case Monday with submission of a signed statement in which Lyle admitted shooting Byrd but claimed he did so as the victim was going to hit him.

       John Mueller and Dan Diamond, defense counsel, are seeking acquittal on grounds of self-defense.

       The trial began last Monday and jurors were qualified to return a possible death penalty. Lyle, a 6-foot-4-inch basketball player, has been jailed with no bail permitted since the killing.

      June 3, 1962

       One of Fifteen Children Is Guilty

       A 21-year-old Denver man described as “an outstanding