State v. Duran

OPINION

BILLINGS, Judge:

Defendant Rudy Ringo Duran, an inmate at the Utah State Prison, was convicted by a jury of assault by a prisoner, a third degree felony, in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-102.5 (1978). On appeal, Duran claims (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict which rejected Duran’s claim of self-defense and defense of habitation, and (2) the trial court erred in refusing to reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor. We affirm.

FACTS

The day of the assault, Duran was an inmate at the Utah State Prison. On October 28, 1986, a disturbance erupted in…