Wash. appeals court orders new murder trial
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- A Washington state appeals court has ordered for a new trial for a man convicted of fatally shooting his friend during melee.
The three-judge panel says Pierce County deputy prosecutor John Neeb violated Aquarius T. Walker's right to a fair trial by making comments during closing arguments that misstated the law and trivialized the jury's duty in reaching a verdict.
A jury convicted Walker in 2009 of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from a shooting outside a Lakewood tavern in 2006. During a fight with a group people, Walker shot at a man who was beating up his friend Tavarrus Moss and hit Moss in the head instead.
The News Tribune of Tacoma (http://bit.ly/syAkTJ) reports the deputy prosecutor who handled the appeal for the county intends to ask the state Supreme Court to review the decision.
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