Court denies appeal in trailer park shooting death

KFDM News has learned a court has denied a man's appeal of his manslaughter conviction in a shooting death at a trailer park, although the chief justice believes the conviction should be thrown out.

Lonnie Brown was indicted for murder. In February of 2008, a Hardin County jury found him guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Justin Slider, 19. Brown was sentenced to four years in prison.

The teen was shot in March of 2006 at Bubba's Trailer Park outside of Silsbee. Brown says he confronted the 19 year old following complaints about Slider's pit bulldog. Brown shot the dog and Slider. He said it was an act of self defense.

The appeal raised four issues:

1. The trial erred when it granted the State's request to submit a charge on the lesser-included offenses of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

2. The evidence is legally insufficient to support the verdict of guilty for the offense of manslaughter.

3. The evidence is factually insufficient to support the verdict of guilty for the offense of manslaughter.

4. The trial court abused its discretion when it allowed the State to use Brown's grand jury testimony that was not produced to the defense in violation of the court's pretrial discovery order. 

The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont on Wednesday denied Brown's appeal for his conviction to be overturned. The court voted 2-1 to affirm his conviction.

Chief Justice Steve McKeithen dissented. In his dissenting opinion, McKeithen wrote that the manslaughter conviction was flawed because there was no evidence of recklessness on the part of Brown.

McKeithen wrote, "Brown consistently testified that he was fighting for his life, and that he had no choice but to fire his weapon. This is an intentional act. It is a knowing act. What it is not is a reckless act."

The dissenting opinion continues, "In fact, all the evidence indicates that Brown consciously shot the decedent. The only evidence of recklessness in this record is the reckless behavior exhibited by the decedent in attacking a man whom the decedent knew was holding a loaded firearm. The majority seems to be saying that, because there is some evidence that Brown did not intend to kill the decedent, that is the functional equivalent of recklessness. This cannot be the law. I can find no way for a rational jury to conclude that Brown acted recklessly; therefore, I would sustain Brown's challenge to the legal sufficiency, and reverse the conviction and render an acquittal."