Opinion
No. 58320.
01-12-2012
Deandre Dwayne HARRIS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent.
Sanft Law, P.C. Attorney General/Carson City Clark County District Attorney
Sanft Law, P.C.
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County District Attorney
ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction, pursuant to a jury verdict, of murder with the use of a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm at or into a structure. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Michelle Leavitt, Judge.
Laci Thornton and four friends were involved in a fistfight outside of a party. Thornton returned to her apartment and told her boyfriend, appellant Deandre Dwayne Harris, what had occurred. Harris became angry and demanded to be taken to the party. Two of Thornton's friends drove with him to the party. Harris knocked on the door, demanded to speak to whomever had assaulted his girlfriend, and was rebuffed—party guests slammed the door in his face. Harris then fired a gun through the door killing the victim. Harris raises two alternative contentions on appeal.
First, Harris contends that insufficient evidence supports his murder conviction because neither Thornton nor her friends saw him leave the apartment with a gun and no one at the party saw Harris with a gun. This contention is belied by the record. The State presented two witnesses who went with Harris to the victim's apartment. They saw Harris pull a revolver from his waistband and fire at the door. Further, the individual who answered the door identified Harris at trial and testified that the shooting happened shortly after he closed the door.
Second, Harris contends that insufficient evidence was presented to show the murder was willful, premeditated, and deliberate. The jury could reasonably infer that Harris acted with the requisite intent when he drove to the apartment with a firearm and shot through a door into a crowded apartment. See Koza v. State, 100 Nev. 245, 250, 681 P.2d 44, 47 (1984) (stating review standard for sufficiency of evidence).
Having considered Harris's contentions and concluding they lack merit, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.