Second Man Gets Life Term in Single-Bullet Murder Case
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A Torrance Superior Court judge has again rejected a request to toss out a murder conviction on the grounds that a prosecutor had argued to separate juries that two different defendants fired the sole bullet that killed a drug dealer.
Judge Francis J. Hourigan proceeded Friday to sentence Stephen Edmond Davis, 20, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Oct. 29, 1995, shooting death of Willie Yen.
Last Friday, Hourigan sentenced John Patrick Winkelman, 21, also convicted of murder in Yen’s death, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Defense attorneys had sought a new trial on the grounds that Deputy Dist. Atty. Todd Rubenstein committed misconduct while arguing the case to separate juries, one for each defendant. The prosecutor has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.
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