The Region : Murder Case Plea Made

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has asked the state Court of Appeal to reinstate the second-degree murder conviction of a former sheriff’s deputy who shot a pregnant woman in a staged raid on her home in Duarte. Robert Armstrong, 32, was convicted of murder in the death of DeLois Young’s fetus in June, 1983, but Superior Court Judge William Keene reduced the conviction to involuntary manslaughter, saying the prosecution had been unable to prove Armstrong had been motivated by malice. Prosecutors argued before the appeals court that there is no law in California covering manslaughter of a fetus and, therefore, Keene has in essence convicted Armstrong of a non-existent offense. Armstrong served less than eight months of a one-year prison sentence. If the appeals court decides to reinstate the murder conviction, he could be resentenced to the prescribed term for second-degree murder, 15 years to life.