Boot-camp witness tells of boy's death

Probation promised for testimony vs. Long

Arizona Republic/October 20, 2004

An adult who attended the tough-love boot camp where a teen died in 2001, painted a grim picture of the boy's death for the jury in the murder trial of Charles Long.

Long, 59, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Anthony Haynes, 14, a camper attending Long's America's Buffalo Soldiers Re-Enactor's Association "summer endurance camp" near Buckeye in June and July 2001.

Troy Hutty pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in Haynes' death, and was promised a sentence of probation if he testified in Long's trial.

But Hutty, 32, had difficulty remembering many details, and in his testy responses to the prosecutor's questions, reinforced the defense's argument that Long was not with Haynes as he was dying nor when other allegations of abuse took place.

Long's trial began Oct. 6 before Judge Ronald S. Reinstein of Maricopa County Superior Court and is expected to continue through most of November.

Hutty flew to Phoenix from his home in Pennsylvania to testify. During his testimony Monday and Tuesday, he said that he and his two children attended Long's camp as a vacation and so that his children could learn about Buffalo Soldiers, African-Americans who fought in military campaigns against Mexicans and Native Americans in the late 19th century West. Long's association re-enacts those battles.

Many of the other children, who ranged in age from 7 to 18, had been in trouble with the law or with their families.

Anthony Haynes was an overweight boy taking medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. On July 1, 2001, Hutty said, Haynes began acting erratic while sitting in the sun in a "drop on request" or DOR line, because he wanted to leave the camp.

Hutty claimed that Haynes ate dirt and refused to drink or wash out his mouth with water.

"He had dirt in his mouth and dirt in his teeth," Hutty said. "I tried to give him water to rinse it out."

Then Haynes ran around the campsite "screaming and making a bunch of crazy sounds" and doing what Hutty called "Three Stooges antics," striking others, hitting himself in the face and smearing dirt on himself.

When Haynes later appeared to go into convulsions, Hutty claimed he went to put a pen in the child's mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue.

"He cracked a smile as if he was just playing around," Hutty told the court.

According to Hutty, Long then told Hutty to take Haynes and four other boys to a nearby hotel to shower. They carried Haynes to a pickup truck and placed him in the bed, then carried him up to the room. He was now unresponsive and started vomiting dirt and stones in the room. Hutty and the boys undressed him and placed him in the shower.

When Hutty checked on him, the shower drain had clogged with the vomit, though he claimed that Haynes' face was above water. Then he said he used his foot to put pressure on the boy's stomach to force out more dirt and stones.

Hutty said that he didn't call police because, as a Black man from Philadelphia, he didn't trust them.

"I'm a product of my own environment," he said, "and police are not looked upon favorably, and I didn't want to end up pretty much where I am now."

Instead he called Long, who told him to bring the boy back to camp.

When he got there, Haynes' pupils were dilated, and Hutty and Long began performing CPR, but Haynes died.