State v. Johnson
New Mexico Court of Appeals
954 P.2d 79 (1997)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
At a party, Aaron Johnson (defendant), Steve Haddox (defendant), and Matt Neel were told that someone was breaking into Neel’s car and stealing the radio. The three men ran downstairs to the parking lot and saw someone get into an idling car and speed off. Johnson and Haddox produced handguns and fired 11 shots at the car. The driver of the vehicle, Abel Gallegos, died from a gunshot wound fired from Johnson’s gun. A bullet found lodged in the car was fired from Haddox’s gun. The State of New Mexico (plaintiff) charged Johnson and Haddox with second-degree murder. After a trial, the court refused to give a jury instruction on the defense of justifiable homicide when stopping a fleeing felon. Johnson and Haddox pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter but reserved the right to appeal the trial court’s refusal to give the justifiable homicide instruction. Johnson appealed. Haddox withdrew his appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bosson, J.)
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