Gambling Man Shoots Dice Playing Enemy

A Pomona man has been convicted of second-degree murder for shooting a Montclair man through the chest after a night of gambling.

Shawn Boyd, 34, faces more than 65 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 31 for killing Jim Hartzell.

"It's best for everybody that he stays locked up for a long time," Hartzell's mother, Lois, said Wednesday.

Boyd shot Hartzell on Jan. 8, 2004, inside an apartment in the 1400 block of West 8th Street in Upland.

Police say Boyd lost money to Hartzell during a night of dice playing. He pulled out his pistol as Hartzell and his girlfriend prepared to leave the apartment.

"He was going to rob them," Deputy District Attorney Courtney Pilchman said.

He fired one shot at a wall and then pointed his gun at Hartzell's girlfriend. Hartzell took offense, stepped in front of his girlfriend, and told Boyd not to point the weapon at her.

Then Boyd fired again.

Boyd claimed during his trial in West Valley Superior Court that he shot Hartzell in self-defense.

However, his account of the shooting was not consistent with ballistic and medical evidence that showed the bullet passed through the back of Hartzell's arm before it pierced his chest, Pilchman said.

Jurors deliberated over parts of two days before convicting Boyd on Monday in West Valley Superior Court.

Besides murder, the panel found him guilty of three counts of assault with a firearm for pointing his gun at three other people in the apartment.

July 7, 2006
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!