(no subject)
the trial is finally over and the verdict is in.
after five weeks of testimony and one week of deliberation, its done.
Two Marines on trial in fatal drive-by shooting
Sailor killed in 2003 attack outside Barrio Logan eatery
By J. Harry Jones
STAFF WRITER
March 26, 2005
NELVIN CEPEDA / Union-Tribune
Two Camp Pendleton Marines accused in the drive-by shooting of a sailor outside a Barrio Logan fast-food restaurant in November 2003 are being tried on murder and other charges in San Diego Superior Court.
Lance Cpl. Myron Thomas, 22, fired an AK-47 assault rifle from a car as it circled the parking lot of a Del Taco restaurant on Main Street, a prosecutor told two juries this week.
The other defendant, Lance Cpl. Kenneth Hall, 20, was the driver of the car, Deputy District Attorney Michael Groch said. The two marines met while serving in Iraq and had recently returned from a tour of duty at the time of the shooting.
The men's trials are being conducted in the same courtroom but with separate juries because some of the evidence is not admissible against both defendants.
During opening statements Thursday in Hall's case, defense attorney Allen Bloom said Hall had no idea that Thomas had the nearly 3-foot-long assault rifle in the back seat and was stunned when six shots were fired in rapid succession at a large group of people in the parking lot.
"Kenneth had no idea Thomas was going to go off, go crazy," Bloom told the jury. He said Hall didn't know what Thomas "had fermenting in his terribly disturbed mind. Kenneth Hall will testify. He will tell you what was going on in his mind."
Groch described the shooting as a "classic drive-by" in which the victim was an innocent bystander.
The prosecutor said Thomas, Hall and two friends had been partying earlier that night at Club Metro, a nightspot at 32nd Street Naval Station. An argument broke out between one of the friends and another man but was broken up by military police before punches could be thrown.
When the club closed about 1:30 a.m., some of the men resumed arguing in the club's parking lot, and Thomas became angrily involved, Groch said.
Later that morning, many of the nightclub goers went to the fast-food restaurant, where Thomas again had an encounter with a man who witnesses will testify may have flashed a gun in a menacing manner, the prosecutor said.
Hall, Thomas and their two friends drove away in Hall's car. Groch said that as they passed back by the base's exit, guards overheard someone in the vehicle twice yell, "We're going to do a 187!" - the California Penal Code section for murder.
Groch said Hall drove to a nearby apartment where Thomas had been staying with a friend. Bloom said Hall planned to drop Thomas off for the night, but Thomas told him to wait because he had to go get something.
What he retrieved from a closet was the assault rifle, which he then brought back to the car uncovered, Groch said.
Bloom, however, told jurors Hall never saw the gun and thought they were going back to Del Taco because Thomas wanted to talk to a girl.
Thomas' lawyer, Marc Carlos, was suffering from a cold and will not give an opening statement until Monday.
Groch said Hall parked the car not far from the restaurant, and that the two Marines waited about eight minutes before Thomas telephoned a woman in the parking lot and asked where the man he had been arguing with was standing.
Two minutes later, the Marines drove by and the shots were fired. The man Groch said the bullets were intended for had been standing a few feet from Roderick Little, 22, who was shot in a leg and died from massive blood loss.
Little, a sailor, had been an innocent bystander talking with friends moments earlier about playing basketball the next day, Groch said.
Two other sailors and a woman were less seriously wounded in the shooting.
Groch said a witness will testify that Thomas bragged about what he had done. The prosecutor said Thomas told a friend: "Man, I shot them fools. I think I got two or three of them."
Groch added, "Actually, he got four."
The trial before Judge William Kennedy is expected to last about a month.
J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
Separate trials in drive-by shooting
By J. Harry Jones
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 17, 2005
Jury deliberations are expected to begin late this week in the trial of a pair of Camp Pendleton Marines accused of murdering a sailor during a drive-by shooting in Barrio Logan.
Myron Thomas, 22, and Kenneth Hall, 20, are not only defending themselves against the prosecution's charges, but also are at odds with each other in providing different versions of what happened early in the morning hours of Nov. 19, 2003.
Thomas testified he acted in self-defense when he went to a friend's apartment, got an AK-47 assault rifle and fired it into a crowd of people gathered in a Del Taco parking lot not far from the 32nd Street Naval Station.
Hall, who was driving the car from which Thomas fired the gun, had no idea Thomas had the gun and claims Thomas went berserk after declaring he was going to kill someone, Hall's lawyer told jurors.
The two Marines met in Iraq and had been back in the United States for a bit more than a month at the time of the shooting.
Thomas testified last week, and Hall is expected to testify early this week.
Thomas said he was drunk and high after smoking a marijuana cigarette dipped in formaldehyde when he brought the gun with him to "even the playing field" against a sailor he argued with earlier that night at a nightclub on the base.
Thomas said he planned to only instigate a fistfight with the sailor he felt had disrespected him and the Marine Corps but brought the assault rifle because he was sure the sailor was concealing a handgun beneath his shirt.
As Hall slowly drove by the fast-food restaurant, Thomas testified, Thomas saw the sailor with a gun in his waist band and "inadvertently" fired the assault weapon six times.
Thomas said he was an expert shot, but his aim was thrown off when a friend sitting next to him in the back seat of Hall's car grabbed his shoulder.
Four people in the crowd were struck by bullets, one fatally, but none of the victims was the man Thomas argued with earlier that night.
Killed was Roderick Little, 22, who had been standing a few feet from the targeted sailor, said prosecutor Michael Groch.
Thomas also testified he was having trouble adjusting to life back in the Untied States after serving in Iraq for six months. He said he was involved in several firefights during his stint and missed the adrenaline rush they brought.
Hall's lawyer said his client will testify he thought he was driving to the Del Taco after the club closed so that Thomas could meet with a girl who would be among people who went there after leaving the club.
His lawyer, Allen Bloom, told jurors Hall had no idea Thomas retrieved the 35-inch-long semiautomatic assault rifle and was shocked when the shots were fired.
Bloom said Hall then made the mistake of his life by speeding away from the shooting and not later going to the police.
The men's trials are being conducted in the same courtroom before Judge William Kennedy but with separate juries because some evidence is not admissible against both defendants.
Thomas testified there is no way Hall couldn't have known the large gun was in the car as they circled the restaurant parking lot.
"The weapon was in plain sight to everyone in that vehicle," Thomas said. Bloom told jurors Thomas arranged to have Hall beaten in jail when he found out Hall was going to blame the shooting completely on Thomas. Thomas denied the accusation.
A third person in the car the night of the shooting, Bernard Jones, testified he believes Hall did see the gun in Thomas' lap about 30 seconds before the shooting.
"His eyes got as big as his glasses," Jones said. He also testified that Hall looked shocked and scared when Thomas fired the gun. Jones pleaded guilty more than a year ago to being an accessory after the fact and was placed on probation.
Throughout the trial Bloom and Thomas' lawyer, Marc Carlos, have bickered not only with the prosecutor, but also with each other.
J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
as an alternate juror, i didn't get to participate in the deliberation. the jury had to decide on five counts:
count 1: first degree murder
counts 2-4: assault with an AK-47 assault rifle
count5: shooting at a person from a car
the jury found the defendant Kenneth Ray Hall not guilty on all five counts.
emotions ran high in the courtroom as the clerk read the verdicts.
Hall's mom had been present throughout the six week trial and broke down in tears upon hearing the first "not guilty" it was one of the most intense things i have seen.
after all the testimony and closing arguments, the prosecution had pretty much convinced me that Hall was responsible, had full knowledge, and had aided and abetted the killing by driving the car and was therefore equally guilty as the shooter, Thomas.
but the jury decided they could not convict Hall of first degree murder because they could not prove he had 'malice aforethought' during the time leading up to the actual shooting. without a guilty verdict on murder 1, they were unable to find Hall guilty of any of the other 4 counts he was charged with.
so shit. he got off without doing any time besides the time he was locked up between his arrest and the trial.
i mean, how can you say you didn't know one of the people in the back seat of your nissan altima was packing a 34 inch AK-47? how do you not notice that? and why the fuck would Hall have allowed Thomas to instruct him to drive by the Del Taco parking lot, park for a few minutes, then drive around the block again?
this shit doesn't add up and i think the guy deserved to do some serious time for being the driver in a drive-by shooting. it seems like he got off on a technicality. the DA should have charged Hall with a lesser offense like 2nd degree murder, manslaughter, or accessory after the fact, so the jury could actually convict his ass of something.
anyway, thats what i've been up to.
after five weeks of testimony and one week of deliberation, its done.
Two Marines on trial in fatal drive-by shooting
Sailor killed in 2003 attack outside Barrio Logan eatery
By J. Harry Jones
STAFF WRITER
March 26, 2005
NELVIN CEPEDA / Union-Tribune
Two Camp Pendleton Marines accused in the drive-by shooting of a sailor outside a Barrio Logan fast-food restaurant in November 2003 are being tried on murder and other charges in San Diego Superior Court.
Lance Cpl. Myron Thomas, 22, fired an AK-47 assault rifle from a car as it circled the parking lot of a Del Taco restaurant on Main Street, a prosecutor told two juries this week.
The other defendant, Lance Cpl. Kenneth Hall, 20, was the driver of the car, Deputy District Attorney Michael Groch said. The two marines met while serving in Iraq and had recently returned from a tour of duty at the time of the shooting.
The men's trials are being conducted in the same courtroom but with separate juries because some of the evidence is not admissible against both defendants.
During opening statements Thursday in Hall's case, defense attorney Allen Bloom said Hall had no idea that Thomas had the nearly 3-foot-long assault rifle in the back seat and was stunned when six shots were fired in rapid succession at a large group of people in the parking lot.
"Kenneth had no idea Thomas was going to go off, go crazy," Bloom told the jury. He said Hall didn't know what Thomas "had fermenting in his terribly disturbed mind. Kenneth Hall will testify. He will tell you what was going on in his mind."
Groch described the shooting as a "classic drive-by" in which the victim was an innocent bystander.
The prosecutor said Thomas, Hall and two friends had been partying earlier that night at Club Metro, a nightspot at 32nd Street Naval Station. An argument broke out between one of the friends and another man but was broken up by military police before punches could be thrown.
When the club closed about 1:30 a.m., some of the men resumed arguing in the club's parking lot, and Thomas became angrily involved, Groch said.
Later that morning, many of the nightclub goers went to the fast-food restaurant, where Thomas again had an encounter with a man who witnesses will testify may have flashed a gun in a menacing manner, the prosecutor said.
Hall, Thomas and their two friends drove away in Hall's car. Groch said that as they passed back by the base's exit, guards overheard someone in the vehicle twice yell, "We're going to do a 187!" - the California Penal Code section for murder.
Groch said Hall drove to a nearby apartment where Thomas had been staying with a friend. Bloom said Hall planned to drop Thomas off for the night, but Thomas told him to wait because he had to go get something.
What he retrieved from a closet was the assault rifle, which he then brought back to the car uncovered, Groch said.
Bloom, however, told jurors Hall never saw the gun and thought they were going back to Del Taco because Thomas wanted to talk to a girl.
Thomas' lawyer, Marc Carlos, was suffering from a cold and will not give an opening statement until Monday.
Groch said Hall parked the car not far from the restaurant, and that the two Marines waited about eight minutes before Thomas telephoned a woman in the parking lot and asked where the man he had been arguing with was standing.
Two minutes later, the Marines drove by and the shots were fired. The man Groch said the bullets were intended for had been standing a few feet from Roderick Little, 22, who was shot in a leg and died from massive blood loss.
Little, a sailor, had been an innocent bystander talking with friends moments earlier about playing basketball the next day, Groch said.
Two other sailors and a woman were less seriously wounded in the shooting.
Groch said a witness will testify that Thomas bragged about what he had done. The prosecutor said Thomas told a friend: "Man, I shot them fools. I think I got two or three of them."
Groch added, "Actually, he got four."
The trial before Judge William Kennedy is expected to last about a month.
J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
Separate trials in drive-by shooting
By J. Harry Jones
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 17, 2005
Jury deliberations are expected to begin late this week in the trial of a pair of Camp Pendleton Marines accused of murdering a sailor during a drive-by shooting in Barrio Logan.
Myron Thomas, 22, and Kenneth Hall, 20, are not only defending themselves against the prosecution's charges, but also are at odds with each other in providing different versions of what happened early in the morning hours of Nov. 19, 2003.
Thomas testified he acted in self-defense when he went to a friend's apartment, got an AK-47 assault rifle and fired it into a crowd of people gathered in a Del Taco parking lot not far from the 32nd Street Naval Station.
Hall, who was driving the car from which Thomas fired the gun, had no idea Thomas had the gun and claims Thomas went berserk after declaring he was going to kill someone, Hall's lawyer told jurors.
The two Marines met in Iraq and had been back in the United States for a bit more than a month at the time of the shooting.
Thomas testified last week, and Hall is expected to testify early this week.
Thomas said he was drunk and high after smoking a marijuana cigarette dipped in formaldehyde when he brought the gun with him to "even the playing field" against a sailor he argued with earlier that night at a nightclub on the base.
Thomas said he planned to only instigate a fistfight with the sailor he felt had disrespected him and the Marine Corps but brought the assault rifle because he was sure the sailor was concealing a handgun beneath his shirt.
As Hall slowly drove by the fast-food restaurant, Thomas testified, Thomas saw the sailor with a gun in his waist band and "inadvertently" fired the assault weapon six times.
Thomas said he was an expert shot, but his aim was thrown off when a friend sitting next to him in the back seat of Hall's car grabbed his shoulder.
Four people in the crowd were struck by bullets, one fatally, but none of the victims was the man Thomas argued with earlier that night.
Killed was Roderick Little, 22, who had been standing a few feet from the targeted sailor, said prosecutor Michael Groch.
Thomas also testified he was having trouble adjusting to life back in the Untied States after serving in Iraq for six months. He said he was involved in several firefights during his stint and missed the adrenaline rush they brought.
Hall's lawyer said his client will testify he thought he was driving to the Del Taco after the club closed so that Thomas could meet with a girl who would be among people who went there after leaving the club.
His lawyer, Allen Bloom, told jurors Hall had no idea Thomas retrieved the 35-inch-long semiautomatic assault rifle and was shocked when the shots were fired.
Bloom said Hall then made the mistake of his life by speeding away from the shooting and not later going to the police.
The men's trials are being conducted in the same courtroom before Judge William Kennedy but with separate juries because some evidence is not admissible against both defendants.
Thomas testified there is no way Hall couldn't have known the large gun was in the car as they circled the restaurant parking lot.
"The weapon was in plain sight to everyone in that vehicle," Thomas said. Bloom told jurors Thomas arranged to have Hall beaten in jail when he found out Hall was going to blame the shooting completely on Thomas. Thomas denied the accusation.
A third person in the car the night of the shooting, Bernard Jones, testified he believes Hall did see the gun in Thomas' lap about 30 seconds before the shooting.
"His eyes got as big as his glasses," Jones said. He also testified that Hall looked shocked and scared when Thomas fired the gun. Jones pleaded guilty more than a year ago to being an accessory after the fact and was placed on probation.
Throughout the trial Bloom and Thomas' lawyer, Marc Carlos, have bickered not only with the prosecutor, but also with each other.
J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
as an alternate juror, i didn't get to participate in the deliberation. the jury had to decide on five counts:
count 1: first degree murder
counts 2-4: assault with an AK-47 assault rifle
count5: shooting at a person from a car
the jury found the defendant Kenneth Ray Hall not guilty on all five counts.
emotions ran high in the courtroom as the clerk read the verdicts.
Hall's mom had been present throughout the six week trial and broke down in tears upon hearing the first "not guilty" it was one of the most intense things i have seen.
after all the testimony and closing arguments, the prosecution had pretty much convinced me that Hall was responsible, had full knowledge, and had aided and abetted the killing by driving the car and was therefore equally guilty as the shooter, Thomas.
but the jury decided they could not convict Hall of first degree murder because they could not prove he had 'malice aforethought' during the time leading up to the actual shooting. without a guilty verdict on murder 1, they were unable to find Hall guilty of any of the other 4 counts he was charged with.
so shit. he got off without doing any time besides the time he was locked up between his arrest and the trial.
i mean, how can you say you didn't know one of the people in the back seat of your nissan altima was packing a 34 inch AK-47? how do you not notice that? and why the fuck would Hall have allowed Thomas to instruct him to drive by the Del Taco parking lot, park for a few minutes, then drive around the block again?
this shit doesn't add up and i think the guy deserved to do some serious time for being the driver in a drive-by shooting. it seems like he got off on a technicality. the DA should have charged Hall with a lesser offense like 2nd degree murder, manslaughter, or accessory after the fact, so the jury could actually convict his ass of something.
anyway, thats what i've been up to.