P. v. Gaines
Appellants Richard Terry Gaines and Mary Lee Gaines, who are brother and sister,[1] were tried jointly and convicted of various charges arising from the fatal shooting of Richard’s estranged girlfriend, Sheila Hegler (Hegler). On appeal, they both argue that the trial court erred in refusing to admit evidence of the unrelated subsequent arrest of Hegler’s son, Richard Tucker (Tucker), who was the sole eyewitness who testified to the shooting. We reject this contention on the ground that any error was harmless.
In addition, Richard argues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence that he was required to wear a tracking device, and that Hegler told a neighbor that when Richard was angry at her, he hid the magnifying glass Hegler used for reading and watching television. We reject these contentions. We agree, however, with Richard’s contention that his conviction for soliciting the murder of Tucker was not supported by sufficient evidence corroborating Tucker’s testimony. Accordingly, we reverse that conviction only, and remand for resentencing.
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