Gabriel v. State

The defendant was not in custody when he made first statement at the crime scene and he made his second statement after he voluntarily agreed to go to the sheriff's office where he was not handcuffed, was not under arrest and was free to leave.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Joseph Derek Gabriel was convicted by a jury of felony murder in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Dana Brookshire.1 On appeal, Gabriel challenges several evidentiary rulings of the trial court, and asserts that he was entitled to a mistrial based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Finding no error, we affirm. On the day in question, Brookshire had been moving her belongings into Gabriel’s apartment. At 2:40 a.m., Gabriel called 911 and reported that his gun accidently discharged and that his girlfriend had been shot. The police arrived to find Brookshire’s body on the floor in a hallway outside the bedroom Gabriel had been occupying. She had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest. Gabriel told the responding officer that he shot Brookshire by accident. He stated that the two had argued earlier in the evening and that she then went out for a walk. He claimed that he went to sleep early with his Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol beside his bed. He was later awakened by a banging noise on his bedroom door, and he grabbed his gun. Upon hearing the door opening, he said “stop, stop” and then fired one shot. At trial, Gabriel testified that he did not shoot the gun accidently; rather he shot blindly, intending to stop the person entering his room.

1. The evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to have found Gabriel guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of felony murder while in the commission of an aggravated assault. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

Gabriel v. State

The defendant was not in custody when he made first statement at the crime scene and he made his second statement after he voluntarily agreed to go to the sheriff's office where he was not handcuffed, was not under arrest and was free to leave.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report