Murder of Police Officer - Death Penalty Charged

The client, a young African-American gang member, was charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances in the killing of a young Caucasian police officer. If convicted on this count, he would have likely faced the death penalty.

The murdered police officer was attempting to stop the client and his friends-gang members preparing to shoot up a rival gang-when he was shot.

The dead officer’s partner saw the suspect run in a particular direction. Responding officers found the defendant in a house sweating profusely and breathing heavily. He matched the description given to them by the officer. Witnesses also claimed seeing the defendant run into the house from the direction of the shooting.

Another witness came forward who claimed the defendant had given him the murder weapon. The murder weapon was found in the backyard of the house where my client was found hiding.

Dedicated and unrelenting, the defense investigated and prepared the case for over two years. The defense hired experts in several topic areas, including dog search capabilities, eyewitness identification, and firearms and ballistics.

Bill Nimmo’s investigation revealed major discrepancies throughout the prosecution’s case. The resident who claimed he was given the guns was in fact a local dope addict and a brother of a police detective. The defense strongly suggested the weapon had been “planted” and the client falsely accused.

Next, the lighting at the crime scene was recreated to demonstrate what a person would have been able to see that night at the scene.

Furthermore, Mr. Nimmo successfully illustrated that the defendant, a large slower man, would have had to be a superior athlete to outrun the officer. The officer had near Olympic speeds in high school track distances similar to distances the night of the chase.

The jury deliberated for 17 days and deadlocked 6-6. The D.A.’s office dismissed the death penalty and offered the defendant a plea to voluntary manslaughter, which he accepted. Bill Nimmo was awarded the “Trial Lawyer of the year” award for this case.