Published: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Court upholds murder conviction in Brier killing
The state Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of a Seattle man accused of gunning down a University of Puget Sound student outside a party in Brier in 2006.
A Snohomish County jury in 2006 convicted Noel Caldellis of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jay Clements, 21. Jurors found that Caldellis, then 20, acted with “extreme indifference to human life” when he fired a pistol into a crowd, striking Clements twice.
Caldellis also was found guilty of second-degree assault on two other people who were in the crowd when he fired the gun.
A judge in 2008 sentenced Caldellis to 34 years in prison.
The Seattle man appealed the convictions based on several arguments, including his contention that his statements to police shouldn’t have been allowed in trial and the judge erred when he didn’t instruct the jury that Caldellis didn’t have a duty to retreat in connection with the assaults.
The court upheld the murder charge. They overturned the two counts of second-degree assault, agreeing that the judge should have a instructed jurors that Caldellis didn’t have a duty to retreat.
The court’s decision, released on Monday, could possibly affect Caldellis’ sentence, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Kathy Webber said. The standard sentencing range is about two years less without the assault convictions.
It was too early to tell Monday if prosecutors will retry Caldellis on the assault charges.
Caldellis was with a group of young men who went to the Brier party to fight someone there. As soon as they arrived, several fights broke out.
Caldellis told police he fired his gun twice in the air to disperse the crowd and to protect his friends. The next two shots went into the crowd, killing Clements.
Clements was attempting to break up the fights when he was shot.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
A Snohomish County jury in 2006 convicted Noel Caldellis of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jay Clements, 21. Jurors found that Caldellis, then 20, acted with “extreme indifference to human life” when he fired a pistol into a crowd, striking Clements twice.
Caldellis also was found guilty of second-degree assault on two other people who were in the crowd when he fired the gun.
A judge in 2008 sentenced Caldellis to 34 years in prison.
The Seattle man appealed the convictions based on several arguments, including his contention that his statements to police shouldn’t have been allowed in trial and the judge erred when he didn’t instruct the jury that Caldellis didn’t have a duty to retreat in connection with the assaults.
The court upheld the murder charge. They overturned the two counts of second-degree assault, agreeing that the judge should have a instructed jurors that Caldellis didn’t have a duty to retreat.
The court’s decision, released on Monday, could possibly affect Caldellis’ sentence, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Kathy Webber said. The standard sentencing range is about two years less without the assault convictions.
It was too early to tell Monday if prosecutors will retry Caldellis on the assault charges.
Caldellis was with a group of young men who went to the Brier party to fight someone there. As soon as they arrived, several fights broke out.
Caldellis told police he fired his gun twice in the air to disperse the crowd and to protect his friends. The next two shots went into the crowd, killing Clements.
Clements was attempting to break up the fights when he was shot.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
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