State v. Payne

CHARLES B. BLACKMAR, Senior Judge.

Following retrial a jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree, Sec. 565.020.1 R.S. Mo.1994 and of armed criminal action, See. 571.015, R.S. Mo.1994. The court followed the jury’s recommendation in assessing concurrent life sentences on each count. We affirm.

The defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, and so a relatively brief statement of facts will suffice. Gerald Akins, the victim’s companion, was the only eyewitness, and there are few items of circumstantial evidence. Akins and Arlee Jones,…