State v. Smith

STRUCKMEYER, Vice Chief Justice.

The appellant, Gerald Smith, was charged with first degree murder and, after a jury trial, convicted of second degree murder. He appeals.

On May 8, 1974, appellant and certain others who collectively called themselves “the family” went to Lil’s Hideaway, a bar in Phoenix, Arizona. As to the events leading up to the death of Albert Washington, there are two versions—one, the appellant’s, and, two, that of Sharon Roach, the State’s principal witness. Roach testified that she was a member of the family and that the family engaged in various illicit activities; that…