2002 HOMICIDE Appeals court upholds conviction

One judge said Moore's conviction should be overturned, but two disagreed.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- In a split decision, the 7th District Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Lorice Moore for his role in a March 2002 homicide.
Moore, 26, of McGuffey Road, is serving a sentence of 18 years to life in prison in the death of 29-year-old Stephen Shackleford, who was shot outside the Victory Annex housing complex on the city's East Side.
Authorities said Moore chased Shackleford out the back door of his East Side home into a back yard, where another man was waiting with a gun. Witnesses said both men fired and Shackleford was shot three times in the back, collapsing in the street.
Guilty of complicity
A Mahoning County Common Pleas Court jury found Moore guilty in August 2002 of complicity to murder. Moore appealed, arguing, among other assertions, that prosecutors had failed to prove he was an accomplice to the crime.
Judge Mary DeGenaro of the appellate court sided with Moore, writing in her dissenting opinion that there was no "competent, credible evidence" that Moore knew the other man, Eddie Bryant, was going to shoot Shackleford.
Bryant was charged with murder but was acquitted by a jury. Two other men also were charged as accomplices, but prosecutors dismissed charges against them before their cases went to trial.
"A defendant is not guilty by association," Judge DeGenaro wrote, explaining that she believes Moore's conviction should be vacated and that he be released from prison.
Majority opinion
But Judge Joseph Vukovich, who wrote the majority opinion, said there was enough evidence produced at trial to support Moore's conviction. Judge Cheryl Waite agreed with him. Appellate cases are decided by a panel of three judges.
"It is clear that any rational juror could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt," Judge Vukovich wrote. "The action by Moore in using a deadly weapon to shoot at the victim demonstrates an intent to kill."
Judge Vukovich said in his decision that Moore's action in chasing Shackleford into another man's gunfire could lead a reasonable jury to conclude that he intended to "aid or abet in the murder."
bjackson@vindy.com