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By Rob Young/Appeal-Democrat
2011-03-23 12:52:33
A Marysville man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2004 after shooting his live-in girlfriend in the neck at point-blank range could have his 21-year prison sentence significantly reduced at a hearing Tuesday in Yuba County Superior Court.
The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in December that Benny Leon Jr. should be resentenced. The girlfriend, Rosalie Reyes, was not a "particularly vulnerable" victim, the court ruled.
Yuba County Judge James Curry, now retired, gave Leon the maximum sentence after finding Reyes was particularly vulnerable. The law has since changed to make juries responsible for that decision, said attorney Eric M. Weaver of Albany, who represented Leon in the appeals court.
The court ruled there was a "grave doubt" that a jury would have found Reyes vulnerable based on California law, which defines vulnerability as "defenseless, unguarded, unprotected, accessible, assailable, one who is susceptible to the defendant's criminal act."
Weaver said Leon was feeling paranoid on April 2, 2003, after a confrontation with gang members when Reyes came to the apartment they shared in the 1300 block of Hobart Drive.
When Leon did not respond after Reyes and two friends pounded on the door, she called his cellphone. Leon opened the door, nodded to one of the friends, then told Reyes, "Get the (expletive) in here."
As Reyes started entering the apartment, Leon nudged her into the door jamb and a shot was fired from his .380-caliber handgun, severing her trachea and an artery.
After Reyes fell to the floor, Leon told her to "stop playing around." When he realized what had happened, he screamed and said, "Don't die. I love you. I'll change," according to a court document.
Leon argued that he shot accidentally, but an expert witness testified Leon had to exert about 12 pounds of pressure on the trigger, compared to 3 to 7 pounds on a normal gun.
Instead of fleeing, the hysterical Leon stayed with the body until police arrived, Weaver said.
Weaver said a jury finding of involuntary manslaughter would have been more appropriate.
"Justice would be served" by a mid-term sentence, which could be 14 years, Weaver said.
Yuba County District Attorney Pat McGrath said the latest judge in the case still has the power to give Leon the maximum sentence and predicted Leon will again receive 21 years.
Leon, who was 20 at the time of the crime, has served about eight years.
Reyes was the mother of Leon's child and was pregnant at the time of her death.
CONTACT reporter Rob Young at 749-4710.
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