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Belsar v. State

Defendant and the other assailants returned to an apartment complex with the specific intent to ambush the victims and they bragged about shooting someone in the face after the crimes.

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Cordell Belsar was convicted of the felony murder of Rigoberto Salas-Palatino and simple battery of Efrain Salas.1 His motion for new trial was denied, and he appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and the trial court’s charge to the jury on the law of conspiracy. Finding no error, we affirm.

1. Evidence was adduced that on the night of the crimes, co-defendant Leonard Smith drove his black Chevy Impala through the Castlebrook apartment complex at a high rate of speed; turned around “laying drag”; and stopped near an apartment where Salas, Salas-Palatino, and several other men were outside socializing. Salas-Palatino approached Smith’s car and spoke to him briefly. As Smith drove off, Salas threw a beer bottle at the car. Smith then picked up Belsar, co-indictee Stewart, and an unidentified male and returned to the Castlebrook apartments to confront Salas, Salas-Palatino and the other men. Belsar and his cohorts parked Smith’s car at a nearby apartment complex, walked back to the Castlebrook apartments on a non-conspicuous path, and ambushed the victims. During the fight, Stewart shot Salas-Palatino in the face; Salas and another individual were struck in the head with beer bottles. Smith admitted to police shortly after the murder that he, Belsar, Stewart and another individual attacked a group of men who had thrown bottles at his car. Belsar admitted to his father and girlfriend that he was involved in the fight and complained to both police and his family of pain in his side.

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