State v. Gardner

DUANE BENTON, Judge.

Defendant Jeffrey W. Gardner was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. After opinion by the Court of Appeals, this Court granted transfer. Mo. Const., art. V, sec. 10. Affirmed.

I

Defendant lived with Phillip Hancock and Carol Drummond, a married couple, and their daughter. On March 7, 1992, defendant shot and killed Hancock, The State presented the case to a grand jury, which returned a “no true bill.” Four years later, a newly elected prosecuting attorney charged defendant with voluntary manslaughter. Because of the…