EX-CON GETS 29 YEARS IN SLAYING AUTHORITIES: DRUG DISPUTE CAUSE OF LANCASTER KILLING.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer LANCASTER -- An ex-convict was sentenced Thursday to 29 years in prison for his role in the slaying of a man in the victim's Lancaster home over what authorities said was a drug dispute. Kyle McCombs, 29, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. in the January2005 shooting death of 22-year-old Eddie Ray Wheston, gunned down in the kitchen of the home he shared with his mother in the 800 block of West AvenueH-14. "I think the defendant got what he deserved for his participation in this crime," Deputy District Attorney Robert Sherwood said. Sentencing for co-defendant Dwayne Harris, 26, was postponed for two weeks. McCombs and Harris were acquitted in May of second-degree murder, but convicted of voluntary manslaughter in their second trial. Their first trial ended in 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 when Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Superior Court jurors acquitted the two men of first-degree murder, but failed to reach a verdict on an alternative charge. Eleven jurors voted to convict To adjudge an accused person guilty of a crime at the conclusion of a criminal prosecution, or after the entry of a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere. An individual who has been found guilty of a crime and, as a result, is serving a sentence as punishment for the act; the pair of second-degree murder; one held out for manslaughter. A second trial was ordered on that charge. Prosecutors noted that the victim was holding a 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 that there was a struggle that preceded the shooting. The shooting occurred after Wheston, Harris and McCombs argued at Wheston's home, sheriff's deputies said. At some point, the three walked into the kitchen, where investigators believe McCombs and Harris began shooting at Wheston. The two assailants fled through a rear kitchen door and sped off in a silver sport utility vehicle that was found later in San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. County. Six days after Wheston's death, McCombs was arrested in Pasadena in an unrelated case on suspicion of burglary and possession of a handgun, officials said. The FBI arrested Harris in October 2005 in Philadelphia after sheriff's homicide detectives learned he was hiding there. McCombs had been convicted at age 18 of vehicle theft and later 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. . He was released from state prison six months before Wheston's death. Harris, who had a 2001 drug conviction, was on parole from prison when Wheston was killed and had stopped reporting to his parole officer, detectives said. karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
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