GUILTY SD - Dalton Williams, 16, shot to death, Pierre, 18 Dec 2012

[Linda7NJ]

Wow...what is his criminal history?


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[Jacie Estes]

The prosecution in the Braiden McCahren murder trial is scheduled to wrap up its case today in the trial being held in Winner.

http://www.todayskccr.com/blog/prosecution-to-rest-case-today/

 

[Jacie Estes]

A former South Dakota State Forensic Lab employee–Allison Gehringer was also questioned during trial proceedings this morning. Gehringer was a forensic scientist at the lab at the time of the shooting. She worked at McCahren’s home to collect evidence including swabs of blood from the scene and she helped collect items from the floor near the shooting scene like glasses and shoes belonging to Williams. Gehringer testified this morning that investigators found a total of 83 shotgun cartridges located in random places throughout the home–68 from drawers and other places in the kitchen area, five from the upstairs and 10 from two different spots in the basement.

http://www.drgnews.com/2014/09/18/jury-mccahren-trial-begins-second-day-hearing-case/

 

[Jacie Estes]

Because he is a juvenile that has been suppressed. Something that was also requested by the defense in pre-trial.

I can only tell you anecdotally, as a former neighbor, that my girlfriends and I would no longer walk by the house when we did morning and evening walks. I also stopped riding my bike on that corner area. There was always kids running around, paintball fights and screaming/yelling.

Wow...what is his criminal history?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jacie Estes]

The crux of this case. I truly hope that justice is done for Dalton and his family and friends.

McCahren’s attorneys have called Williams’ death an accident, saying McCahren was unaware the gun was loaded.

Read more: http://minnlawyer.com/2014/09/18/across-the-region-sept-22-2/#ixzz3DnesVJGs


Also on the stand this morning was Officer Cole Martin of the Pierre Police Department. Martin was also one of the first few law enforcers to arrive at McCahren’s home following the 9-1-1 call to authorities. Martin helped secure the perimeter of the crime scene. He also assisted another officer in talking to the witness of the shooting–T.Y. from within a separate patrol car. Martin said T.Y. was upset, sweating and breathing heavily and began sobbing as officers talked to him. During questioning this morning, Martin told Special Prosecutor Mike Moore that what T.Y. said led him to believe the shooting was intentional and not an accident because T.Y. witnessed McCahren load the gun with a shotgun shell.

http://www.drgnews.com/2014/09/18/jury-mccahren-trial-begins-second-day-hearing-case/

 

[Jacie Estes]

Gone to the jury today. Justice for Dalton and his family.

Everybody agrees on the one indisputable fact about what happened in the late afternoon of December 18, 2012 at a Pierre home: Dalton Williams, 16, was shot and killed by Braiden McCahren, another 16-year-old Pierre youth.

But how it happened – and what story to believe – will be for a Tripp County jury to decide starting sometime today.

Closing arguments begin at noon today in McCahren’s first-degree murder case. He has pleaded not guilty in the shooting death of Williams. McCahren also has pleaded not guilty to Attempted First Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault involving another 16-year-old who also was at the McCahren house at the time of the shooting.

http://www.todayskccr.com/blog/jury-to-decide-major-questions-in-mccahren-trial/

 

[Jacie Estes]

GUILTY! Justice for Dalton!


The jury in Winner deliberated more than six hours before finding Braiden McCahren, 18, guilty of second-degree murder for the December 2012 killing of 16-year-old Dalton Williams. McCahren, who was 16 at the time but was tried as an adult, also was convicted of aggravated assault for pointing a shotgun at another classmate, identified as T.Y., and pulling the trigger.

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/content/winner-jury-convicts-pierre-teen-2012-shooting

 

[Jacie Estes]

Prosecutor: Justice was done

But in the jury instructions, Judge John Brown said that McCahren could be found guilty of one of three “Lesser Included” charges – Second Degree Murder, First Degree Manslaughter and Second Degree Manslaughter – if they could not agree on First Degree Murder...

...McCahren is in the Hughes County Jail. When sentenced at a later date, he could face up to life in prison.

http://www.todayskccr.com/blog/prosecutor-justice-was-done/

 

[Jacie Estes]

Pierre teen convicted in classmate murder trial

After the verdict was announced, family and friends of Dalton Williams cried out and sobbed. They declined to comment as they were leaving the courthouse.

Williams' death on Dec. 18, 2012, drew heavy news coverage in Pierre and the trial was moved to Winner to improve the chances of an impartial jury.

The trial was delayed nearly half a dozen times as attorneys from both sides contested what evidence can be used, who can testify and whether McCahren should be tried as an adult.

http://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...deliberating-classmate-murder-trial/16110695/

 

[Jacie Estes]

Defense lawyer says he needed more time in Pierre teen's murder trial

SIOUX FALLS (AP) — The lawyer for a Pierre teenager convicted of killing one classmate and threatening another says he should have had more time to prepare a defense for a lesser offense.

http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/con...he-needed-more-time-pierre-teens-murder-trial

 

[PastTense]

Was the defendant out on bail all this time?

How long will it take for the judge to decide on a penalty?

 

[PastTense]

McCahren will be sentenced the afternoon of December 16 at the Hughes County Courthouse in Pierre.

http://www.drgnews.com/2014/10/06/sentencing-braiden-mccahren-set-december-16/

 

[PastTense]

Yes, I see the defendant has been out on bond:

He is currently residing in Vermillion per conditions of his bail, which was set in December. Those conditions are as follows:

1. Appearance bond of $250,000, with a $25,000 cash deposit.

2. McCahren is in the joint custody of his father, Lee “Kit” McCahren, and grandparents Lee M. McCahren and Nancy McCahren.

3. McCahren will reside in Vermillion at the home of his grandparents. He will remain in Vermillion except as required for medical and/or psychological treatment, court appearances or trial preparation.

4. Court services for the 1st Circuit court is to supervise McCahren while he’s in Vermillion.

5. He cannot have alcohol or non-prescription drugs.

6. He cannot have contact with the family of Dalton Williams or T.Y.

7. McCahren is subject to random drug and alcohol testing by the court.

8. He must check in daily with 1st Circuit Court Services officers or local law enforcement.

9. He must remain in contact and be accessible to attorneys at all times.

10. McCahren is under house arrest. He may leave only with one or more custodians only for church, medical and/or psychological counseling, fitness, to dine, court appearances or participate in trial preparation.

11. He is not permitted to operate an automobile or another motor vehicle.

12. He must enroll in and attend high school classes through an online alternative program in the Vermillion school system. Attendance and performance records must be available to the court.

13. When required to be in Pierre for a court appearance or trial preparation, McCahren will be under house arrest in his home, under the same conditions as in Vermillion.

14. McCahren cannot possess any knife, firearm or any other dangerous weapon. His custodians must remove all firearms and weapons from their homes.

15. McCahren can have no in-person, email or text message contact with Pierre high school students or recent graduates.

http://www.capjournal.com/news/judg...cle_363015f4-84b7-11e3-ba51-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Jacie Estes]

McCahren lawyers request guilty verdict be set aside

Attorneys for Braiden McCahren have asked a judge to set aside the Pierre youth’s Second Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault convictions...

...McCahren, who is currently housed at the Hughes County Jail, could face up to life in prison on the Second Degree Murder charge and a maximum of 15 years on the Aggravated Assault charge. He will be sentenced at 1 p.m. December 16.

http://www.todayskccr.com/blog/mccahren-lawyers-request-guilty-verdict-be-set-aside/

 

[Jacie Estes]

Hearing Set On Defense Motion In McCahren Case

A judge is hearing attorney arguments on whether the jury verdict should be set aside in the case of a Pierre teenager convicted of killing a classmate two years ago.

A hearing was scheduled on the defense motion Friday before Judge John Brown.

Jurors in adult court in September found 18-year-old Braiden McCahren not guilty of first-degree murder but convicted him of second-degree murder in the December 2012 death of 16-year-old Dalton Williams. McCahren's attorneys say their client didn't have the opportunity to present a defense to the lesser charge, and that violates his rights.

http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39579&Itemid=57

 

[PastTense]

On Friday, a judge denied a motion to set aside a verdict of guilty made by a jury in the case of a Pierre teen charged with killing a 16-year-old classmate in 2012...

After the hearing, (Special Prosecutor) Moore stated the defense wanted the verdict set aside based on a case from the 1980′s, but lawmakers made changes to state law in 2006 which makes Second Degree Murder an automatic lesser charge of First Degree Murder. Moore says (defense lawyer) Butler should have known that the jury could consider the lesser charge when deciding McCahren’s fate.

McCahren will be sentenced December 16. Moore says he will be speaking with Williams’ family to determine if the family will make a statement at sentencing... McCahren could receive any sentence up to life in prison for Second Degree Murder. The maximum sentence for Aggravated Assault is 15 years.

http://www.drgnews.com/2014/11/10/s...llowing-judges-decision-motion-mccahren-case/

 

[PastTense]

A Pierre teenager convicted of killing a classmate following what authorities said was an argument over a paintball game was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison with 15 suspended. Braiden McCahren, 18, also received 10 years in prison for an aggravated assault charge. The sentences are to be served at the same time.

Sixth Circuit Judge John Brown gave McCahren credit for the more than 450 days that he has already been in custody, meaning he will be eligible for parole after nine years.

http://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...ets-years-classmates-shooting-death/20497339/

In regards to Tuesday’s sentencing for McCahren, the Williams family statement says in part that they were shocked, devastated, saddened, confused, upset, and angry–a whole gamut of emotions. They said they had hoped for a harsher sentence, and that didn’t happen-for whatever reason-but they stated they hope and pray that it turns into a longer sentence than what they think it may be.

http://www.drgnews.com/2014/12/17/f...tement-following-sentencing-braiden-mccahren/

The Williams family is absolutely correct.

 

[PastTense]

South Dakota’s highest court listened, in an hour-long hearing Wednesday in Pierre, to the appeal by the former Riggs High School youth convicted in 2014 of murdering his friend, Dalton Williams, with a shotgun blast to the chest when both were 16. The shooting took place in a house in Pierre in 2012.

Now 20, McCahren, son of a Pierre attorney, remains in state prison serving a 15-year sentence for second-degree murder of Williams and for aggravated assault on a third boy, who is the only living witness to the murder, other than McCahren himself. With the time he’s served since his arrest, McCahren could be eligible for parole in about five years.

But his attorney says a last-minute trial strategy sprung by the prosecution trimmed McCahren’s constitutional right to a fair shot at defending against the “new” charge presented to the jury as an option. The key issue raised by Michael Butler, McCahren’s defense attorney, before the five justices is whether the prosecution gave fair notice when prosecutors persuaded state Judge John Brown to instruct the jury – after all evidence from both sides was presented – that it could also consider a “lesser included charge” of second-degree murder.

http://www.capjournal.com/news/sd-h...cle_edfb7b92-ba43-11e5-a5a7-cbe330ba976f.html

Anyone have an opinion about this? I always thought it was normal to include second-degree murder as an option in a first degree murder trial.

But suppose they do throw out the conviction and do a new trial: doesn't the defendant risk a substantially greater penalty with very little possibility of a lesser penalty?