Results tagged “verdict” from Inland Empire Courts

By Mike Cruz on December 3, 2008 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A 21-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday in the 2006 shooting death of a security guard during an altercation at a popular Victorville nightclub.

A jury found Charles Edward Bell guilty of second-degree murder and found true a special allegation for the use of a firearm in the shooting of Maurice Montez McCullough on June 4, 2006 at Club Oasis, in the 15000 block of Ramona Avenue, according to Deputy District Attorney Robert Brown.

Trial proceedings were held before Judge Erik M. Nakata in Victorville Superior Court. Jurors deliberated a little more than a day, in total, to reach the verdict, Brown said.

A jury found Kevin Harville guilty Friday in connection with a crash while chasing an ex-girlfriend on a local freeway, killing another motorist with his vehicle's battery in October 2006.

Harville's Ford Explorer rolled over several times on the southbound 215 Freeway, pitching its battery into opposing traffic where it struck and killed motorist 30-year-old Shawn Billings Kettlewell.

After one day's deliberation, the jury found Harville guilty of second-degree murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, according to San Bernardino Superior Court personnel.

A desert jury aquitted a woman last week in the shooting death of 62-year-old Thomas Cook at a Twentynine Palms residence last year.

Jurors returned not guilty verdicts for defendant Marah Yvonne Pletcher, 45, during proceedings Nov. 5 in Joshua Tree Superior Court, according to court records.

Cook, who is related to Pletcher's husband, was shot at a residence in the 1300 block of Jack Rabbit Trail, in Twentynine Palms, on July 28, 2007. Sheriff's officials reported that Pletcher called 9-1-1 and reported she had shot a man following an altercation.

A jury found a Lynwood man guilty of murder in the 2006 deadly shooting of two men along Live Oak Canyon Road in Yucaipa over a drug debt.

Jurors deliberated six hours and found defendant Alberto "Beto" Oropeza Delgadillo guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 53-year-old Pedro Sanchez and Salvador Felix, 31, prosecutors confirmed Friday.

The verdicts were returned Wednesday afternoon in San Bernardino Superior Court. Delgadillo faces 50 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced Jan. 14.

Readers: Here's another example of getting an early glimpse of tomorrow's story today. This sneak preview is about the verdicts announced in the trial for Joe Anthony Sanchez in San Bernardino.

By Mike Cruz
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- A Rialto man was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the deadly stabbing of a man he found in his estranged wife's bed.

The jury determined Joe Anthony Sanchez was not guilty of a greater charge of murder in last year's death of 28-year-old Jose Alonso Madrigal, who was stabbed in the neck while the pair reportedly wrestled with large knife.

Sanchez was also cleared of any charges in connection with his wife and key witness, Charity Sanchez, when the jury declared him not guilty of attempted murder charges related to her.

The verdicts were announced Wednesday in San Bernardino Superior Court.

"That tells me they didn't believe her," Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Lawrence said of Charity Sanchez's testimony, in a courthouse hallway after the verdicts were announced.

Sanchez, 29, found the pair inside the married couple's San Bernardino home during an early morning visit in August 2007.

Charity Sanchez allowed her husband into the home to use the bathroom. But he detoured to a darkened bedroom and found Madrigal in the bed.

Charity Sanchez told police she had a romantic relationship with Madrigal. However, the couple are still married today, the defense lawyer confirmed.

"The facts of the case were difficult," said Alex Martinez, deputy district attorney. "I understand and respect the jury's decision."

The defense plans to appeal the verdict, based on unfair evidentiary rulings that kept evidence out of the trial, Lawrence said.

For example, evidence that cocaine was found in the victim's system and evidence of Charity Sanchez's violent past were not allowed at trial.

The defense also said it learned a week before trial that a sex diary, or journal, kept by the wife was found at the scene.

mike.cruz@inlandnewspapers.com

A Rialto man was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter today in the deadly stabbing of a man the defendant encountered with his estranged wife last year.

The jury found Joe Anthony Sanchez not guilty of murder charges in the August 2007 death of 28-year-old Jose Alonso Madrigal and not guilty of charges related to his then-estranged wife and key prosecution witness, Charity Sanchez, during proceedings in San Bernardino Superior Court.

"That tells me they didn't believe her," Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Lawrence said of Charity Sanchez's testimony, afterward in a courthouse hallway.