Bakersfield, California Casino Shooting Conviction Upheld

An appeals court in California recently kept in place the conviction of a man who allegedly shot his girlfriend’s former boyfriend. The shooting took place at an internet casino in .

Maurice Bailey is currently serving a 22-year sentence for the 2017 shooting in . The victim, Erskine Carr, Jr., eventually died. He was wounded in his back.

In its ruling, the appeals court said the trial judge, who sat on the 2018 case, must eliminate a prison-term extension, according to KGET, a local TV station.

The relevant law on sentencing changed recently. That impacts Bailey’s case.

Also, Bailey’s attorneys will get a chance to present arguments in court on fines which a judge ordered him to pay, KGET adds.

But the Fifth District appeals court upheld the conviction. Bailey’s attorneys argued local police failed to get and review relevant video from a marijuana dispensary. That dispensary was in the same building as the internet casino.

The surveillance video would have shown Bailey was not guilty in the case, the attorneys argued.

But the appeals court disagreed with much of their argument. There was no “intentional or wrongfully motivated delay by police in seeking to obtain the evidence,” the court ruled.

The unobtained footage was impliedly found to have had potential exculpatory value,” the appellate court said in the ruling.

“However, the trial court also found the police did not act in bad faith or with any wrongful intentions.”

Eventually, police officers tried to get the surveillance video. But officers asked too late. It had already been erased, KGET revealed.

Testimony and court documents also revealed that Carr and Bailey both lived with Darneshia Stubbs, a woman involved in the case, at different times. When the shooting took place, she was living with Bailey, KGET said. Earlier, she resided with Carr. He also was identified as the father of her child, KGET adds.

Also, Stubbs allegedly was at the casino when Carr was shot. Stubbs later testified that Bailey admitted to shooting Carr, KGET reported.

Bailey avoided conviction on a first-degree murder charge. But he was found guilty of assault with a firearm on a person charge and possession of a firearm by a felon charge.

The earliest Bailey is eligible for parole is in 2034, according to state parole online records.

During the trial, experts offered conflicting testimony. Based on their statements, Carr either died from gunshot wounds or from illness stemming from drug abuse.