Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Court rejects inmate’s appeal in stabbing death conviction

The Nevada Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Ray A. Azcarate, who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 2004 stabbing death of his girlfriend in Las Vegas.

Azcarate, 38 and an inmate at the state prison in Ely, had appealed his conviction arguing that evidence of a previous domestic violence conviction should not have been introduced during his trial.

The court said the domestic violence incident “was relevant to prove motive and intent with respect to the crime charged; the state’s theory of the case was that Azcarate was mad at the victim for refusing to bail him out of jail after the domestic violence charge.”

The court also upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Richard Satterfield in the shooting death of Edgar Poe. Satterfield -- who contended the jury wasn't give proper instructions related to accomplice witnesses -- said there was no independent evidence connecting him to Poe’s murder because all four of the eyewitnesses were accomplices.

The court rejected the appeal of James J. Turner Jr., who convicted of shooting 21-year-old Miranda Johnson in the head in 2001 in Las Vegas.

Turner pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to a life term with the possibility of parole.

In his appeal, he argued 21 errors were committed in the handling of his case, 20 of them related to ineffective assistance from his attorneys.

Turner, 36, also claimed his guilty plea was invalid.

The court said there was substantial evidence that Turner participated in the burglary and murder. By pleading guilty, the court said Turner received a benefit. Had he been convicted at trial, he could have faced two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

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