CONVICTION STANDS IN TWO LANCASTER ASSAULTS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A state appeals court has upheld a reputed reputed adj. referring to what is accepted by general public belief, whether or not correct. gang member's conviction for two 1999 attacks, in which he beat a gay man as well as a man who had accused him of burglarizing his car. The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected Rance Caesar Hill's claim that the prosecutor showed bias when he dismissed two prospective jurors who were African-American, but agreed to reduce his 21-year prison sentence by one year. ``This claim is meritless,'' the appellate ruling said. The prosecutor explained to the judge that he did not want the two African-Americans to serve on the jury in part because of their occupations. One was a social worker; the other was a postal worker A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union - NPMHU and the American Postal Workers Union, part of the AFL-CIO. . Hill also contended that jurors should not have been allowed to learn that his co-defendant had pleaded no contest and that the trial judge erred by admitting into evidence an inflammatory photograph, showing him standing next to a man holding a gun. Both claims were rejected by appellate justices. Hill was convicted in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court of assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. , battery with serious injury and robbery with great bodily injury, with prior prison term and prior serious felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. conviction enhancements. He was acquitted of 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. . Hill, then 26, was sentenced in April 2003 to 21 years in prison. The three-judge appellate panel agreed the trial judge erred in adding a year to Hill's sentence because of a prior prison term, so the sentence will be reduced by one year. Hill and two other men yelled anti-gay epithets during a June 2, 1999, attack in which they used a mop handle and a large beer bottle to beat an HIV-positive man outside an apartment on Kingtree Avenue. ``There was blood everywhere, even on the backyard walls,'' the ruling said. Eleven days later, Hill and two other men beat a Lancaster man who had approached them on Boyden Avenue while looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. an amplifier stolen from his car. The man was beaten unconscious. His jaw was broken and his jawbone jaw·bone n. The maxilla or, especially, the mandible. jammed into an ear bone, prosecutors said. Hill stole the man's wallet, gold chain and cash, prosecutors said. The two attacks occurred less than six months after Hill had been released from state prison on parole. Hill was sent to prison in 1995 after convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer or firefighter. In prison, he was convicted of battery of a correctional officer. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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