Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to pick up where we left
Speaker 1: off with the binding memorandum filed by the State of
Speaker 1: Utah against Tyler Robinson two. Defendant also knowingly created a
Speaker 1: great risk of death to everyone near mister Kirk when
Speaker 1: defendant pulled the trigger. Defendant also knowingly created a great
Speaker 1: risk of death to all others who were near mister
Speaker 1: Kirk but not within the line of fire when defendant
Speaker 1: fired the fatal shot. See Sosa Hurtado twenty nineteen forty
Speaker 1: seven through fifty two. Sosa Hertato establishes at firing a
Speaker 1: gun at one person can create great risk of death
Speaker 1: to others who are near, even if they are not
Speaker 1: within the line of fire. Sosa Hurtado involved a murder
Speaker 1: in a small smoke shop where a father and son worked.
Speaker 1: After Sosa Hurtado repeatedly refused the father's demands to move
Speaker 1: his car because it was endangering customers, the son intervened
Speaker 1: and asked so Hurtado to move his car. Sosa Heurtato
Speaker 1: responded by punching the son and starting a fistfight that
Speaker 1: Sosa Hurtato ultimately lost. Sosa hur Toto left, but later
Speaker 1: returned with an assault rifle and fired one shot at
Speaker 1: the father, who was standing behind the counter two to
Speaker 1: four feet away from his son. The first shot missed
Speaker 1: the father and hit the glass case, sending glass and
Speaker 1: wood into the father's leg and causing him to fall
Speaker 1: on the floor. Sosa hurd Toto then turned towards the
Speaker 1: sun and fired a second shot that hit the son's
Speaker 1: hand and caused him to also fall to the floor
Speaker 1: behind the counter. The father began to get up and
Speaker 1: moved towards his son, when with his back to father,
Speaker 1: Sosa Hurtado leaned over the counter, positioned the rifle only
Speaker 1: inches from the son's chest, and shot him twice more,
Speaker 1: killing him. The smoke shop consisted of a single room
Speaker 1: approximately fifteen feet wide and twenty four feet long. After
Speaker 1: a jury convicted Sosa Hurtato of aggravated murder, he appealed
Speaker 1: and challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support the
Speaker 1: charged aggravating factor that he placed another person at great
Speaker 1: risk of death when he killed the victim, quoting Utah
Speaker 1: Code Section seventy six to five two two one s
Speaker 1: the Utah Supreme Court had no trouble, rejecting this argument
Speaker 1: and affirming the aggravated murder conviction. The court found that
Speaker 1: two separate acts each created a great risk of death
Speaker 1: to the father. The first was the first shot directed
Speaker 1: towards them, but the second was the initial shot aimed
Speaker 1: at the sun, a shot that hit the son in
Speaker 1: the hand when the father was only a few feet away.
Speaker 1: The court concluded that a reasonable jerry could conclude that
Speaker 1: both of these acts created a great risk of death
Speaker 1: to the father. Thus, firing at one person while another
Speaker 1: is only a few feet away knowingly creates a great
Speaker 1: risk of death for that other person. Here, in addition
Speaker 1: to those in the defendant's line of fire, several others
Speaker 1: were in close proximity to mister Kirk when defendants gottom dead.
Speaker 1: At least two individuals were standing under the tent where
Speaker 1: mister Kirk was seated, and others were near the front,
Speaker 1: sides and back of the tent. As in Sosa Hurtado,
Speaker 1: these individuals proximity to mister Kirk when defendant fired put
Speaker 1: them in the zone of danger. See twenty nineteen Utahs
Speaker 1: sixty five and forty seven. Their proximity and spatial relationship
Speaker 1: together with the indirect threats to them arising from the
Speaker 1: risk of stray or rikocheg bullets, put them in the
Speaker 1: zone of danger, especially when the defendant used a high
Speaker 1: powered rifle to kill mister Kirk. Other courts agree that
Speaker 1: the risk of stray, rickocheing and passed through bullets creates
Speaker 1: a zone of danger for anyone close to a shooting victim.
Speaker 1: For example, in Commonwealth Verse Rie zero six eighty four
Speaker 1: A two two D ten twenty five ten thirty six
Speaker 1: through thirty seven PA nineteen ninety six, the Pennsylvania Supreme
Speaker 1: Court found that firing the fatal bullet at the victim
Speaker 1: while the victim lay on the floor or of an
Speaker 1: enclosed bedroom, while another was on the floor close to
Speaker 1: the victim and others were on a bed nearby, created
Speaker 1: a great risk of death to everyone in that bedroom.
Speaker 1: The Rios court recognized that an errand bullet could have
Speaker 1: struck and killed anyone in the bedroom. That risk of
Speaker 1: death was not reduced because Rios fired only a single bullet.
Speaker 1: It's not necessary that the endangered bystander be directly in
Speaker 1: the line of fire for a grave risk of death
Speaker 1: to occur. IDEA thirty six Indeed, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Speaker 1: has repeatedly confirmed the conclusion that a zone of danger
Speaker 1: encompasses everyone. You're a shooting victim see Commonwealth versus Watson,
Speaker 1: five sixty five at two D one thirty two one PA,
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine. In a day and age where accidental
Speaker 1: victims of shootings are a prosaic, a jury can infer
Speaker 1: that an individual is knowingly endangering or person when that
Speaker 1: individual uses a gun in any area where he knows
Speaker 1: that others could be See also Commonwealth vers. Smith, five
Speaker 1: point forty a dot two D two forty six two
Speaker 1: sixty Pa, nineteen eighty eight. Jerry properly found that defendant
Speaker 1: created a grave risk of death where others were in
Speaker 1: danger of being struck by an errant ricochet or pass
Speaker 1: through bullet Commonwealth first Right, nine sixty one a dot
Speaker 1: two D one nineteen one forty six PA, two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight. A grave risk can be found where there's
Speaker 1: potential for an errant ricochet or a path through a bullet.
Speaker 1: It is unnecessary by the endangered bystander to be in
Speaker 1: the direct line of fire in order to be in
Speaker 1: grave risk of death, As with those in the line
Speaker 1: of fire. Defendant also acted knowingly in creating a grave
Speaker 1: risk of death for all those close to mister Kirk.
Speaker 1: When defendant pulled the trigger again, defendant could see, especially
Speaker 1: through his rifle scope, those who were in front of
Speaker 1: and to the sides of mister Kirk. State example one, two, three, three,
Speaker 1: dot two, four, five, seven, eight ten, tout three thirty
Speaker 1: two at one transcript Day one eighty seven, twelve through
Speaker 1: eighty eight. It's also reasonable to infer that the defendant
Speaker 1: could see people in the area behind mister Kirk's tent.
Speaker 1: In fact, that earlier that morning, defendant had been down
Speaker 1: to the amphitheater area, interacted with some TPUSA representatives, and
Speaker 1: would have seen firsthand the staging area behind mister Kirk's tent.
Speaker 1: Defendant was thus aware of the existing circumstances, that is,
Speaker 1: that several people were near mister Kirk when defendant shot.
Speaker 1: Ham Utah Code section seventy six Dash two Dash one
Speaker 1: oh three to two. A person acts knowingly with respect
Speaker 1: to circumstances surrounding his conduct when he is aware the
Speaker 1: existing circumstances, and again defended himself, anticipated that he might
Speaker 1: miss Kirk, he loaded his Grandpa's rifle with not just
Speaker 1: one engraved bullet, but with four engraved bullets. Had he
Speaker 1: been certain of his aim, he would have no reason
Speaker 1: to load it with more than one bullet. But defendant
Speaker 1: was well aware that he might miss his target, thereby
Speaker 1: putting others in danger, both those in the line of
Speaker 1: fire and others nearby, and he thus came prepared with
Speaker 1: four bullets in the event his aim was not true,
Speaker 1: a real possibility, as his own target practice had confirmed
Speaker 1: to him. The state therefore presented apple evidence of the
Speaker 1: aggravating circumstance. Because the evidence demonstrates probable cause for each
Speaker 1: element of Count one, aggravated murder, the court must bind
Speaker 1: defendant over for trial on that count see Utah Rules
Speaker 1: for Criminal Procedure seven b b B. The evidence establishes
Speaker 1: probable cause that defendant committed Count two, felony discharge of
Speaker 1: a firearm causing serious bodily injury. To establish that defendant
Speaker 1: committed felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury,
Speaker 1: the state must show that one defendant discharge the firearm
Speaker 1: in the direction of an individual, knowing or having reason
Speaker 1: to believe that an individual may be endangered by the
Speaker 1: discharge of the firearm and number four cause serious bodily
Speaker 1: injury to that individual. Utah Code Section seventy six DASH eleven,
Speaker 1: DASH two ten two A, and three C. The same
Speaker 1: evidence that establishes probable cause that defendant committed aggravated murder
Speaker 1: also establishes probable cause that he committed each element of
Speaker 1: felony discharge causing serious bodily injury. As explained, The evidence
Speaker 1: establishes probable cause that defendant fired a high powered rifle
Speaker 1: in mister Kirk's direction. As also explained, the evidence establishes
Speaker 1: probable cause that defendant knew that firing a high power
Speaker 1: rifle in mister Kirk's direction would endanger mister Kirk. Indeed,
Speaker 1: defendant admitted that he intended to kill mister Kirk State
Speaker 1: example sixteen dot one at three sixteen dot three. The
Speaker 1: evidence also establishes probable cause that defended inflicted serious bodily
Speaker 1: injury on mister Kirk. Serious bodily injury means bodily injury
Speaker 1: that creates or causes serious, permanent disfigurement, protracted loss or
Speaker 1: impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ,
Speaker 1: or it creates a substantial risk of death Utah Code
Speaker 1: Section seventy six dot one Dash one O one dot five.
Speaker 1: Defendant did not merely create a substantial risk of death
Speaker 1: when he shot mister Kirk. He in fact caused mister
Speaker 1: Kirk's death, states example eleven, at one. The evidence therefore
Speaker 1: establishes probable cause that defendant committed count number two. See
Speaker 1: the evidence establishes probable cause that defendant committed counts three
Speaker 1: and four obstruction of justice by concealing or removing both
Speaker 1: the firearm he used to shoot mister Kirk and the
Speaker 1: clothing he wore during the shooting. To establish that defendant
Speaker 1: committed obstruction of justice, the state must show that one
Speaker 1: defendant to would intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the investigation, apprehension, prosecution, conviction,
Speaker 1: or punishment of any person regarding conduct that constitutes a
Speaker 1: criminal offense. Three destroyed, concealed, or removed an item or
Speaker 1: other thing Utah Code Section seventy six dot eight dot
Speaker 1: three oh six two s. The evidence establishes probable cause
Speaker 1: to support each element. Defendant admitted to mister Twigs that
Speaker 1: he had concealed his rifle by leaving it in a
Speaker 1: bush where he changed outfits stead example sixteen dot one
Speaker 1: at two through seven. UVU surveillance video also shows defendant
Speaker 1: moving towards and away from the wooded area north to campus,
Speaker 1: where investigators found his rifle. As for his clothing, consistent
Speaker 1: with defendant's admission to mister Twigs, the surveillance footage showed
Speaker 1: defendant returning to campus just before the shooting wearing different
Speaker 1: clothing than he wore during his previous campus visits. Defendant
Speaker 1: also admitted to Michael Mitchell that he discarded the clothes
Speaker 1: that he wore during the incident. All this evidence establishes
Speaker 1: a reasonable belief that the defendant both removed and concealed
Speaker 1: the rifle he used to shoot mister Kirk and destroyed, concealed,
Speaker 1: or remove the clothing he wore when he fired the
Speaker 1: fatal shot see Utah Code Section seventy six Dash eight
Speaker 1: Dash three six two see. This evidence therefore establishes probable
Speaker 1: cause to support these elements of count three pretending to
Speaker 1: the rifle and count four pertending to the clothing. The
Speaker 1: evidence also establishes probable cause that defendant intended to hinder, delay,
Speaker 1: or prevent a criminal investigation. Defendant texted mister Twigs that
Speaker 1: he had hoped to keep this little secret until he
Speaker 1: died of old age, and that if he were able
Speaker 1: to grab his rifle unseen, he'd have left no evidence.
Speaker 1: In the note defendant left for mister Twiggs before driving
Speaker 1: to UVU, defendant predicted that by the time mister Twiggs
Speaker 1: read the note, defendant would be likely dead or facing
Speaker 1: a lengthy prison sentence. These admissions demonstrate that defendant new
Speaker 1: a criminal investigation for murder would follow his shooting of
Speaker 1: mister Kirk, and that he intended to obstruct that investigation
Speaker 1: at the very least that is a reasonable inference from
Speaker 1: defendant's admissions. The evidence therefore establishes probable cause that defendant
Speaker 1: committed both counts of obstruction of justice. All right, folks,
Speaker 1: we're going to wrap up right here, and in the
Speaker 1: next episode dealing with the topic, we're going to pick
Speaker 1: up what part d. All the information that goes with
Speaker 1: this episode can be found in the description box.