Plea deal in Limmie Curry case; 12 years total in prison to lesser charge of manslaughter

No media was present this morning or this afternoon at the court hearing for Limmie Curry. Despite what was listed in the court computers, when Curry's case was called, Judge Timothy Cissna said "a resolution has been reached in this case."

I suspected that an offer had been reached since I heard that Curry wanted to talk to his father last week when the case was in Judge Feeney's court and was being set for jury trial. Before his case was called today, Curry nodded to his dad. After the change in plea, his dad silently left the courtroom.

If you followed the Eddie Lee case on this blog, the resolution should not be a surprise. Former DA Paul Gallegos prosecuted the first Limmie Curry trial which was declared a mistrial and he also prosecuted Eddie Lee's trial last year, in which the Judge granted the defense motion of dismissing the case right before jury deliberations. Eddie Lee's attorney, Mr. Daryll Stallworth cited Penal Code 1118 as the reason.

Eddie Lee is the only other witness and  previously, he was the co defendant charged with Curry for murder. He has no reason to testify. Lee's sister who was dating Curry has no reason to testify. Lee's ex-girlfriend, who was on EPD's most wanted list and arrested has no reason to testify.  The loss of the mistrial and Eddie Lee's trial did impact this case.

As part of this plea agreement, Curry plead to the highest term for the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter which is 11 years. He got an additional year for the special allegation of being armed with a firearm at the time of comitting the crime. He is ineligible for probation. Sentencing is in the Courtroom 1 at 2   p.m. on March 23. Judge John Feeney will sentence Curry. The case had been sent to Judge Cissna for jury trial. He will serve this term in state prison.

The charge of voluntary manslaughter has a lower term of three years, a mid term of six years and the highest is 11 years.

Judge Cissna denied the defense's request to have Curry serve the one year special allegation concurrently.

Judge Cissna also reminded Curry that this,was a serious violent felony and is a strike. He told Curry as part of his sentence, he could be required to pay fines and restitution to the victim's family.

The case was referred to probation for calculation of credits, only. Because this is a strike, Curry is only eligible for 15% of credits. He has been in jail since 2010.

Related and some revious posts:

http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2015/01/eddie-lee-free-man-but-his-former-honey.html
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2014/10/eddie-lee-case-dismissed-judge-feeney.html

From .tulare-kings-attorney.com criminal defense blog:

Motion for Acquittal - Penal Code Section 1118.1

Posted on Oct 12, 2012 4:09pm PDT
Under Penal Code 1118.1 the defense counsel will make a motion for judgement of acquittal.The Court will consider the motion and will grant it if the prosecution has failed to substantiate any element of the charged crime.

Penal Code 1118.1

“In a case tried before a jury, the court on motion of the defendant or on its own motion, at the close of the evidence on either side and before the case is submitted to the jury for decision, shall order the entry of a judgment of acquittal of one or more of the offenses charged in the accusatory pleading if the evidence then before the court is insufficient to sustain a conviction of such offense or offenses on appeal. If such a motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the evidence offered by the prosecution is not granted, the defendant may offer evidence without first having reserved that right.”

In order for a motion for a judgement of acquittal (Penal Code section 1118.1) to be granted, the court must be convinced that there is a lack of “substantial evidence” on one or more elements of the crime charged. However, this motion may only be made during trial at the end of either party’s case-in-chief. Therefore, in order to be eligible to make this motion, the defendant must have committed to a trial on the charges and accepted the associated risks.

Yet, there is a chance that something could happen during trial that would result in a lack of substantial evidence. Such events could be an individual who is not the defendant and claims responsibility for the crime, a witness refusing to testify, or a witness who changes his story or lies on the while giving testimony.

Therefore, this is a useful motion with the restriction that the case must be brought to trial before the motion may be filed. Additionally, if the motion has solid grounds and is denied, the denial shouldn’t have a significant impact on the overall outcome because the jury will be able to see that there is a lack of evidence to support a conviction during deliberation.

Press Release from DA's office (4:58 p.m):


District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced today that Limmie Greg Curry pled guilty this afternoon to voluntary manslaughter, and admitted the use of a firearm in the shooting death on February 3, 2010 of William Charles Reid.
The defendant agreed he would receive the maximum term of 12 years.  He will serve 85% of his sentence.  Formal sentencing will occur on March 23, 2015.
At a previous trial of the matter, the jury deadlocked and was unable to reach a verdict on the murder charge but found he was guilty of cultivation of marijuana.
The resolution of the case was reached following discussions with the victim’s family.
The case was investigated by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel.