ATTEMPTED MURDER CONVICTION STANDS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A state appeals court has upheld a Lancaster man's conviction for attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. for shooting into a car after following it down a Lancaster street in May 2002. A three-judge panel of the Second District Court of Appeal rejected Kendall Broughton's claims that the trial judge erred in not telling the jury to be wary of testimony by accomplices and in not granting a new trial after a detective in his testimony mentioned the three-strikes law. ``We see no reasonable probability that appellant A person who, dissatisfied with the judgment rendered in a lawsuit decided in a lower court or the findings from a proceeding before an Administrative Agency, asks a superior court to review the decision. would have received a more favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. outcome if accomplice accomplice: see accessory. instructions had been given,'' the ruling said. ``The evidence unmistakably un·mis·tak·a·ble adj. Impossible to mistake or misinterpret; obvious: unmistakable signs of illness. un pointed to appellant as the shooter.'' Broughton was sentenced to 47 years to life in state prison after being convicted of attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. , and shooting at an occupied vehicle. He had previous convictions for attempted robbery and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon, records show. Broughton was accused of pointing a gun at a passenger in a car after his car pulled up beside it in traffic on Division Street, records show. The two cars turned down a residential street, and the gunman fired at the other car, hitting it in the right-rear door, back-right bumper, right-side mirror and right-rear tire. The victims drove to the Lancaster sheriff's station to report being shot at by a man in a maroon maroon, term for a fugitive slave in the 17th and 18th cent. in the West Indies and Guiana, or for a descendant of such slaves. They were called marron by the French and cimarrón by the Spanish. Honda. Deputies later stopped a maroon Honda driven by Broughton and also occupied by Broughton's mother and a second man. The second man had in his pocket bullets of the caliber fired at the car, and deputies said they found a handgun and a rifle next to a Dumpster in the area behind the Broughton apartment. Tests showed the handgun had fired the shots at the car. When questioned by deputies, the second man in the car initially denied any involvement, and then admitted he was in the car during the shooting, officials said. He said that he was in the passenger seat when Broughton told him that a man in another car was someone Broughton had been having trouble with, then pulled out a gun and fired at the other car, the ruling said. The man testified at trial that he told detectives what they wanted to hear because he did not want to be prosecuted for attempted murder and denied being in the car with Broughton during the shooting. Broughton argued in his appeal that the trial judge erred in failing to instruct the jury that the witness was an accomplice as a matter of law whose testimony should be viewed with distrust and required corroboration. The justices said they doubted whether the witness was an accomplice and asserted there was ample corroborating evidence corroborating evidence n. evidence which strengthens, adds to, or confirms already existing evidence. . The justices also said the jury had reason without being told by the judge to mistrust the witness' testimony because he had changed his story more than once. Broughton also contended that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial A courtroom trial that has been terminated prior to its normal conclusion. A mistrial has no legal effect and is considered an invalid or nugatory trial. It differs from a "new trial," which recognizes that a trial was completed but was set aside so that the issues could be and motion for a new trial motion for a new trial n. a request made by the loser for the case to be tried again on the basis that there were significant legal errors in the way the trial was conducted and/or the jury or the judge sitting without a jury obviously came to an incorrect result. , both based on a detective's reference to the three strikes law. The detective testified that he was told by the other man in the car that someone said ``they're going to strike (Broughton) out'' when the car was pulled over. Broughton's attorney objected and moved for a mistrial, which the trial judge denied. The judge then admonished the jury to disregard the last question and answer. ``We note that the answer was very vague and disjointed and it is not possible to be sure who made the reference to the three strikes law,'' the ruling said. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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