Voluntary Manslaughter

A Franklin County (Pa.) Court jury Thursday found Michael Harrigan guilty of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting his neighbor last spring. Harrigan, 30, was convicted of killing Steven Wetzel, 47, early on May 27, 2010, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. While his family and friends prayed and cried quietly, Harrigan sat emotionless as the verdict was read after four hours of jury deliberation. Tears streamed down his wife's face as she clutched their toddler.

Based on claims of ineffective attorney representation, Franklin County (Pa.) Judge Richard Walsh has ordered a new trial for a former Shippensburg, Pa., man found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the August 2009 shooting death of his neighbor. Walsh Friday ordered Chad Kirby's sentence to be vacated and called for a new trial. Walsh reviewed Kirby's claims filed by his new attorney, David J. Foster, regarding the trial representation from Eric Weisbrod. At issue is whether jurors should have been told about using force when defending your property.

A man initially charged with malicious wounding after a Hagerstown man was injured in a fight last week now faces a voluntary manslaughter charge after the victim died, according to court records. A warrant charging Troy Michael Butts, 30, in the death of Keith Douglas was issued Wednesday by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington, the court records said. Douglas, 43, died Thursday. Police said he was declared brain dead shortly after the fight on May 24, the records said.

HAGERSTOWN pepperb@herald-mail.com After nearly four hours of deliberations Wednesday, a Washington County Circuit Court jury found Boni Facio Aramburo guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the April 5 shooting death of Terrance "T.J. " Johnson in a Noland Village courtyard. The jury of seven men and five women found Aramburo, 21, not guilty of his the serious charge, second-degree murder, in Johnson's death. Johnson was shot once in the heart after he jumped into a fistfight between Aramburo and Ernest Davis, aka "Poncho," shortly before 8 p.m. in Court 4 of the Hagerstown housing complex.

A 38-year-old woman accused in the 2007 shooting death of her estranged husband could serve three to 15 years in prison after she pleaded no contest Monday in Berkeley County Circuit Court to one count of voluntary manslaughter. Maria Decicio-Smith, who is in jail, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 9 by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes. Decicio-Smith, who was indicted in 2008 on one count of first-degree murder, became emotional during the plea hearing and interrupted her attorney to tell the judge that she wanted to “say her piece.” Decicio-Smith’s trial was to begin Tuesday.

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. ? A juror in the Raymond Hoak voluntary manslaughter trial in November testified Monday in a hearing that she was the juror who had a note with penalties for possible verdicts written on it. Jurors are not supposed to have penalties for possible verdicts, and Hoak's attorney Paul Taylor is asking Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Steptoe Jr. for a new trial for Hoak because of the discovery of the note. Mary Mauck testified that the note was "for me only" and was not shared with other jurors.

A Berkeley County man was indicted Tuesday on charges related to the May 2011 death of a Hagerstown man, according to the prosecutor's office. Troy Michael Butts, 31, of 251 Appomattox Drive in Martinsburg, was indicted by a Berkeley County grand jury on one count of malicious assault and one count of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Keith L. Douglas, 43, Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office said. Douglas, who died May 25, 2011, was declared brain dead shortly after he was injured in a fight with Butts on May 24, police have said.  A second victim, Joseph Carter, also of Hagerstown, was treated at Winchester (Va.)

A Ranson, W.Va., man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in an April 2005 shooting death in Noland Village was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison by a Washington County Circuit judge. Read the full story in Friday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently denied Chad Kirby's request to review a lower court's decision, effectively ending his current quest for a new trial in the August 2009 shooting death of his neighbor. In June 2011, Franklin County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard Walsh, who has since retired, granted Kirby a new trial and vacated his sentence, then the Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned that order a year later. A one-line document from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dated June 5 stated the “petition for allowance of appeal is denied,” referencing Kirby's request to review the Superior Court's decision.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently denied Chad Kirby's request to review a lower court's decision, effectively ending his current quest for a new trial in the August 2009 shooting death of his neighbor. In June 2011, Franklin County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard Walsh, who has since retired, granted Kirby a new trial and vacated his sentence, then the Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned that order a year later. A one-line document from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dated June 5 stated the “petition for allowance of appeal is denied,” referencing Kirby's request to review the Superior Court's decision.

A St. Thomas, Pa., man who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Feb. 25, 2010, shooting death of his wife has been denied an opportunity to withdraw that plea by Franklin County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas Judge Shawn Meyers. Christopher T. Jones, 33, was given 30 days to appeal Meyers' ruling dated Nov. 15, according to court documents. Jones is serving at least six years in state prison in the shooting death of his then 27-year-old wife, Kristin Runyon. He entered a guilty plea Jan. 6, 2011.

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania on Wednesday reversed a lower court judge's order and reinstated the prison sentence of a Shippensburg, Pa., area man whom a jury found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. In June 2011, Franklin County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard Walsh ordered a new trial for Chad Kirby and vacated his sentence. Now, the higher court has reversed Walsh's granting of a new trial and reinstated Kirby's sentence of six to 12 years in prison. Kirby had claimed ineffective trial counsel after the October 2010 verdict.

A Hagerstown man was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for the January 2011 shooting death of Damon M. Scott. Brock Jerome Smith, who pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in May, was ordered by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes to pay $15,000 in restitution. In a separate hearing Monday, Smith waived extradition to Washington County, Md., where he faces prosecution for a probation violation, court officials said. Scott was shot just after 3 a.m. Jan. 15, 2011, outside of Club Zero, which operated at 1774 Winchester Ave., just south of Martinsburg.

A St. Thomas Township, Pa., man who was sentenced to a minimum of six years in state prison for the shooting death of his wife was back in court Friday asking that his plea be withdrawn based on bad advice from his attorney. Christopher T. Jones, 33, said the advice his former attorney, David S. Keller, gave him was not effective, and was the reason he entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter before Judge Shawn Meyers in January. Jones is serving a six- to 14-year prison sentence for the shooting death of his 27-year-old wife, Kristin Runyon.

A Hagerstown man pleaded no contest Monday morning to voluntary manslaughter in the January 2011 shooting death of Damon M. Scott. Brock Jerome Smith, 23, is scheduled to be sentenced July 16. He is expected to be ordered to serve three years in prison as part of a plea agreement. Smith also is expected to be ordered to pay restitution, but will be credited for time he has served at Eastern Regional Jail, where he has been incarcerated since Jan. 19, 2011, according to jail records and Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely.

A Berkeley County man was indicted Tuesday on charges related to the May 2011 death of a Hagerstown man, according to the prosecutor's office. Troy Michael Butts, 31, of 251 Appomattox Drive in Martinsburg, was indicted by a Berkeley County grand jury on one count of malicious assault and one count of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Keith L. Douglas, 43, Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office said. Douglas, who died May 25, 2011, was declared brain dead shortly after he was injured in a fight with Butts on May 24, police have said.  A second victim, Joseph Carter, also of Hagerstown, was treated at Winchester (Va.)

A preliminary hearing for a man charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of a Hagerstown resident last week was continued Thursday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court. Troy Michael Butts, 30, waived his right to the hearing within 10 days of his incarceration during a brief court appearance Thursday. Keith Douglas, 43, died on May 26, two days after a fight with Butts, and after police said he was declared brain dead. Butts, who was being held at Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night, was initially charged with two counts of malicious wounding in the fight.

A man initially charged with malicious wounding after a Hagerstown man was injured in a fight last week now faces a voluntary manslaughter charge after the victim died, according to court records. A warrant charging Troy Michael Butts, 30, in the death of Keith Douglas was issued Wednesday by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington, the court records said. Douglas, 43, died Thursday. Police said he was declared brain dead shortly after the fight on May 24, the records said.