Jury finds Fierro guilty of homicide
Posted at: 10/02/2009 3:04 PM
| Updated at: 10/02/2009 7:00 PM
By: Reed Upton, KOB.com
Carlos Fierro
The jury was hung on a second count of leaving the scene of an accident. Eleven jurors reportedly favored a guilty verdict but the twelfth didn’t agree.
Fierro was charged with driving drunk on an early Wednesday morning last November when he struck and killed William Tenorio with his BMW in front of a Santa Fe bar.
Fierro didn’t deny he was drunk at the time of the incident, but his attorneys did argue that the accident was unavoidable because Tenorio was wearing dark clothes and jaywalking on a darkened street.
There could be an appeal to the verdict. On Thursday, District Judge Michael Vigil changed one of the jury instructions at the request of prosecutors.
Vigil did acknowledge at the time that the change could be grounds for an appeal, but he denied Fierro attorney Jason Bowles’ motion for a mistrial.
Fierro's passenger, Alfred Lovato, is expected to head to court next week for a preliminary hearing.Lovato is also charged with vehicular homicide, even though he wasn't driving.
The state says he got in the car with Fierro and let him drive drunk, so he's also to blame for Tenorio's death.
Eyewitness News 4 has been in the courtroom since the trial began. For more on this story as it becomes available, tune to Eyewitness News 4 at 5, 6 and 6:30, and stay with KOB.com for up-to-the-minute updates.
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