State v. Lopez

OPINION

PAGE, Justice.

Appellant Ignacio Lopez was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.185(1) (1996) for the August 27, 1996, shooting death of Dennis Mejia. In this appeal, Lopez raises the issue of whether the trial court committed prejudicial error when it refused to instruct the jury on “voluntary intoxication.” 1 We affirm based on our conclusion that, on the facts presented here, Lopez was not entitled to a voluntary intoxication instruction.

During the summer of 1996, Amy Tanner met Lopez and became friends with him. Through Lopez, Tanner met…