 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Lucas6/7/1990
The supreme court has transferred its criminal appeal No. CR-87-0128 AP/PC to this court because our jurisdiction was expanded by the amendment of A.R.S. § 12-120.21 (Laws of 1989, ch. 58), which now includes life imprisonment appeals.
Following a lengthy jury trial, appellant was convicted of three counts of first-degree, felony-murder (A.R.S. § 13-1105) and one count of burglary (A.R.S. § 13-1508). He was sentenced to life imprisonment on the murder charges and ten years imprisonment on the burglary charge, with all counts to run concurrently.
The events which resulted in these charges being filed against appellant involved a shoot-out in an apartment in Phoenix. Appellant, with three of his companions, had entered the victim's apartment to confront him about problems which had occurred between the victim and one of appellant's companions. During the confrontation that ensued, appellant struck the victim in the side of the face with a .45 caliber automatic pistol that he was carrying. The weapon belonged to the appellant's companion, with whom the victim had been having a disagreement. After striking the victim in the face with the weapon, appellant began walking towards the front door of the apartment.
At about the same time, the victim's "common law" wife advised appellant that the police had been called and that he and the other people who had accompanied him should leave. When told this, appellant apparently looked over to his companion, stated that there was no use continuing to talk, fired and shot the victim, knocking him to the floor near the balcony of the apartment.
Appellant and one of his companions then immediately exited the apartment. However, before the other two companions could leave, the victim apparently got to his feet, walked back into the apartment and began firing at the individuals who were still there. The two individuals were killed. During the time the victim was firing his weapon, the appellant returned to the apartment, yelled to his companions to get out, and then fled to the parking lot where his truck was parked.
The appellant and his companion got into the truck and were leaving the parking lot as the first police officer arrived on the scene. The victim apparently climbed over his balcony and jumped into the parking lot where the appellant's truck was parked. The victim managed to get to the other side of the parking lot but collapsed and died on a cement parking block.
Appellant and his companion were captured approximately ten minutes later after being chased by the police from the scene. The .45 automatic which was used to shoot the victim was recovered along the route that appellant used to flee on foot from the police. He later made statements to the officer which conflicted with his trial testimony regarding how the shooting incident had occurred.
Two witnesses to the shooting, the victim's "common law" wife, Wanda Scurlock, and a neighbor, Donald Sandry, testified at trial. They were both in the apartment along with the victim, appellant and appellant's three companions. They were uninjured and testified about the incident at length. Appellant took the stand in his own behalf and testified. The jury convicted appellant, and he appeals from the judgment and sentences.
On appeal, appellant argues:
(1) His murder convictions are contrary to law and reason.
(2) Prosecution witnesses testified about alleged prior bad acts in violation of a pretrial order.
(3) Appellant was denied effective assistance of counsel
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Arizona Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|