83 results for 'cat:"Firearms" AND cat:"Murder"'.
J. Webb finds the circuit court properly dismissed the inmate's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The inmate alleges the trial court lacked jurisdiction because no record evidence shows he pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal firearm possession. The inmate was found guilty for first-degree murder and the sentencing order recited he pleaded guilty to the firearm charge, the shorter sentence for which is being served concurrently with that for the murder conviction. The petition is time-barred. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Webb, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: CV-23-721, Categories: firearms, Habeas, murder
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Testimony from neighbors shows defendant and his girlfriend were experiencing tension in the relationship after their daughter was born, and that this was exacerbated by defendant's recent wreck in his truck and a winter storm. A female witness with whom defendant had flirted in the past testified the girlfriend retrieved a gun when defendant taunted her with the flirtation. Defendant shot and killed the girlfriend when attempting to take the gun from her. His version of how the shooting occurred was inconsistent with the blood spatter evidence and other forensic evidence, such as the fact that the bullet did not exit the girlfriend's skull. A rational factfinder reasonably could infer that defendant intentionally or knowingly shot the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00208-CR, Categories: Evidence, firearms, murder
J. Wall finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years following the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy who sold him a BB gun and not Glock pistol. The defendant argued that he was denied a fair trial when the State interviewed prospective jurors and asked them if they would do their "job" in court, unfairly suggested that he was not thinking about his daughter while committing a violent crime, and then erred in certifying him as an adult. However, the State presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant submitted three versions of the incident, falsely claiming that he took the rap for the actual killer because he was "freaked out," and then attempted to reframe an evidentiary challenge as a prosecutorial error. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wall, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 125430, Categories: Evidence, firearms, murder
J. Liu holds that the appeals court erred in limiting the resentencing authority of a trial court that had stricken a firearm enhancement. A trial court may impose a lesser included, uncharged enhancement that is supported by findings, even if the enhancement is from somewhere in the penal code other than the firearm enhancement statute. Reversed.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Liu, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: S275940, Categories: firearms, murder, Sentencing
J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to show that defendant was a party to the crimes. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0068, Categories: firearms, murder
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J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to find that he was a party to the crimes. Defendant was involved in a fight with the victim before the shooting. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0069, Categories: firearms, murder
J. Kafker affirms defendant’s murder conviction after he shot a man four times, killing him, after they argued at a barbershop. Although the warrant to search defendant’s apartment was not signed by a judge, the judge did sign the search warrant affidavit and submitted a sworn affidavit that indicated she planned to sign the warrant, so the lack of signature on the warrant itself was a clerical error, and not one that would make the warrant invalid. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Kafker, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: SJC-09903, Categories: firearms, murder, Search
J. Pickering finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Defendant admitted to firing his gun at the victim, whom he had followed in his vehicle after observing the victim's aggressive driving. Though defendant says he fired without looking and in self-defense, testimony from a witness, as well as testimony from defendant's friend and daughter regarding his angry and confrontational character, support the conviction. The court properly admitted evidence from other shootings during the penalty phase of trial. Furthermore, defendant fails to show mitigating circumstances. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Pickering , Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 83531, Categories: firearms, murder, Self Defense
J. King finds the lower court properly denied the defendant's suppression motion. Police tracked a pair of men that vaguely matched the description witnesses of a murder gave. The two men carried small black bags. An officer approached the pair at an apartment complex, and they immediately tried to escape, but the defendant was unsuccessful. Before the officer could cuff the defendant, he flung his bag into the courtyard below. Inside the bag was a pistol matching the description of the murder weapon, along with cannabis. The defendant argued the officer had no right to search through his bag, but the defendant relinquished ownership of the bag when he threw it away. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 23-4179, Categories: Evidence, firearms, murder
J. Perry finds that defendant was properly convicted of murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon stemming from the shooting death of a victim who was a paraplegic. Defendant's threatening actions towards the victim before the shooting and other evidence was sufficient to refute his claim that the homicide was justified. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Perry, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: KA-23-554, Categories: firearms, murder, Self Defense
J. Jackson finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of 13 crimes including the premeditated attempted murder of law enforcement when he went on a three-day crime spree that ended in him crashing a stolen vehicle into a busy intersection during rush hour and engaging in a shootout with law enforcement, injuring two police officers. Evidence is sufficient to support his convictions and sentence to a determinate term of 35 years 8 months and a total indeterminate term of 30 years to life. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: A166011, Categories: Evidence, firearms, murder
J. Wall finds a lower court properly convicted a defendant for unlawful possession of a weapon and attempted first-degree murder. The defendant argued that his 586 month prison sentence is unreasonable and that he was entitled to a new trial after discovering that the lead detective in his case launched a sexual relationship with his daughter, who served as a confidential informant. However, the defendant failed to present sufficient evidence in court that the relationship started before of during his criminal proceedings. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wall, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 120994, Categories: Evidence, firearms, murder
J. Gladwin finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, kidnapping and firearm possession. After defendant and an accomplice were released on bond pending trial for drug charges, defendant was caught on surveillance video trading firearms with another party. Witnesses testified that defendant was involved in a heated discussion with the accomplice about who possessed the drugs and what would be testified to at trial. Defendant assaulted the accomplice after another party exacerbated the situation by accusing the accomplice of rape. The accomplice was then forced to get into the trunk of defendant's car before being taken to a remote location. He was later discovered in the burned-out vehicle, having been shot 4 times with a weapon defendant was known to possess. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: CR-23-407, Categories: firearms, murder, Kidnapping
J. Murphy finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. The victim's stepson testified that defendant had confronted them outside their apartment, firing shots into the air. The stepson left to call 911, hearing more shots as he ran, then returned to find the victim on the ground and defendant gone. Security video showed defendant fleeing in a vehicle associated with him, while other eyewitnesses also identified defendant as the shooter. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: CR-23-322, Categories: Evidence, firearms, murder
J. Barret finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, battery and firearm possession. The victims went to defendant's house to discuss issues regarding one of their daughters with the mother, who was at that time in a relationship with defendant. An altercation led to defendant shooting the victims, killing one and injuring the other. Though defendant claimed one of the victims had a gun, the mother, his girlfriend, testified she never saw them with a gun. Defendant's justification argument is not preserved for review because he failed to identify any element of justification in his directed-verdict motions that the state failed to disprove. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barret , Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: CR-23-445, Categories: firearms, murder, Assault
J. Rodriguez finds that the lower court improperly conducted a consolidated trial of two indictments relating to separate criminal transactions without issuing appropriate limiting instructions to the jury. There is no evidence of any connection between the offenses, separated by nearly six months, and consolidation was thus improper. Further, there was a clear risk that the jury was unduly influenced by an impermissible propensity inference due to the consolidation. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 00746, Categories: Criminal Procedure, firearms, murder
J. McCool finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant for attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied automobile, but it improperly sentenced him on the firearm conviction. Because discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle is a Class B felony, his sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on that conviction was unlawful. Accordingly, the matter is remanded for a new sentencing hearing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: CR-2022-0934, Categories: firearms, murder, Sentencing
J. Hixson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for second-degree murder and employing a firearm. Officers testified that victim's wife called 911 after her husband ran from defendant's residence, bleeding and exclaiming he had been shot. A neighbor testified to the same events, and the weapon and shell casings were found in defendant's home. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: CR-23-188, Categories: firearms, Jury, murder
J. Gremillion finds that defendant was properly convicted on charges including second degree murder and firearm possession by a convicted felon after the fatal shooting of a victim in front of a home during a drug buy. The witness testimony and video evidence was sufficient to identify defendant as the shooter. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Gremillion, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: KA-23-425, Categories: firearms, murder, Identification
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Kansas finds a lower court properly convicted a defendant for capital murder after he killed four people, including a 18-month-old toddler. The defendant, who submitted eight versions of his offenses, argued that his sentence is unreasonable based on his claims that only one of his crimes was considered "heinous, atrocious, and cruel." However, the state presented sufficient evidence in court that it did not have to show that all of the killings were heinous in order to obtain a conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 115,964, Categories: firearms, murder, Sentencing
J. Chamberlin finds the lower court properly convicted defendant on two counts of first-degree murder for a drive-by shooting that killed a man and a woman in their vehicle. Defendant was sentenced to life in prison for the murders with an additional five years for each count for a firearm enhancement. The instant court finds the firearm enhancement was improperly applied because a greater minimum sentence is already applied with the life sentence for murder. Portions of the sentencing related to the firearm enhancement should be vacated, but no error was found in any other aspects of sentencing. Reversed in part.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Chamberlin, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 2022-KA-00696-SCT, Categories: firearms, murder, Sentencing
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and firearm offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's request to present a witness's testimony via videoconference. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: S23A1179, Categories: firearms, murder
J. Tucker finds the trial court properly qualified the ATF officer as an expert witness during defendant's trial on murder and gun charges. She has over a decade of experience in similar investigations and took a certified training course on muzzle-to-target distance, the topic she was specifically asked to address during trial. Furthermore, despite defendant's self-defense argument, his convictions are supported by sufficient evidence, including his conflicting stories to police and during trial, the lack of gunpowder residue on the victim, as well as the fact the shell casing was found 15 feet from the victim, which supported the state's theory he shot her from a distance. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tucker, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-22, Categories: firearms, murder, Experts
J. Huffman finds the trial court properly admitted all of the state's autopsy photos into evidence during defendant's trial on murder and firearms offenses. Although some included graphic images of the victim's gunshot wounds, each was used to explain the circumstances of the victim's death and the angle at which the bullet entered his head in support of the prosecution's theory of the case. Meanwhile, the prosecutor's isolated statement during closing arguments that defendant was the only individual charged despite video evidence of multiple shooters was not prosecutorial misconduct that implied his guilt. It was designed only to remind the jury to focus on the specific evidence against defendant and supported the state's complicity theory. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Huffman, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4834, Categories: firearms, murder, Prosecutorial Misconduct
J. Joyce finds the trial court erred in failing to sua sponte declare a mistrial based upon allegedly improper statements that the prosecutor made during closing and rebuttal arguments. “From the prosecutor’s statements, the jury could have inferred that the prosecutor believed that defendant had lied and that the state’s witnesses were truthful, and the jury could have improperly evaluated the credibility on that basis.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Joyce, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: A176552, Categories: firearms, murder, Prosecutorial Misconduct
J. Peterson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and other offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including defendant's admission that he was present when the victim was shot but made no attempt to seek medical aid. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to request a jury instruction on concealing the death of another or hindering the apprehension of a felon. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0894, Categories: firearms, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. Peterson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court did not commit any error in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter because the evidence did not support the charge. The admission of photos of two model guns that could have been used in the shooting and photos of defendant with the guns probably did not impact the verdict in light of the strong evidence of defendant's guilt. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A1078, Categories: firearms, murder
J. Welbaum finds that defendant's murder and assault convictions were supported by sufficient evidence, including his DNA and blood on the car driven during the drive-by shooting. Even if the state failed to establish he was the shooter, he could still have been found guilty under a theory of complicity. However, the trial court erroneously imposed a firearm specification on both the assault and murder convictions because the crimes involved the same course of conduct; therefore, the case will be remanded to remove one of the firearm sentencing enhancements. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4445, Categories: firearms, murder, Sentencing