A Case of Biting Irony

Who chomped off the lower part of officer David Storton's right ear? Was it Shawn Blick or Jonathan Blick? One flicker of doubt and both Blick brothers -- who happen to be identical twins -- could get off.

The fact that the two are physically identical is about the only thing the prosecution and the defense can agree on in the case, which is expected to go to trial this month. The Santa Clara County district attorney's office charges that on the night of May 10, 1988, the twins assaulted Storton when he , identified himself as a police officer, interrupting their attempted break-in of a San Jose apartment. Attorneys for the Blicks maintain that the twins were innocently throwing pebbles at a friend's window to wake him when they were startled by the officer, who was moonlighting as a security guard and was wearing only a T shirt and jeans; they jumped him after he drew a gun.

Identifying the actual culprit may not be necessary since in California those who help someone commit a crime may be found as guilty as the actual perpetrator. Still, a jury could choose to convict only the gnasher on one of the meatier charges facing the pair, or a judge could decide to impose a more severe punishment. One of the four counts against each of the 21-year-old brothers, aggravated mayhem, carries a mandatory life sentence.

Storton swears he knows who nipped him: Jonathan, the one who had long hair on the night of the crime. Clearly an open and shut case but for a small detail. By the time the twins were arrested three days after the incident, both had short haircuts. Storton still insists it was Jonathan. But one of the defense attorneys, Chris Carroll, predicts that "there will be substantial evidence submitted at the trial to show that the officer was mistaken about the identity of the biter."