Judge argues murder conviction not ‘shocking to sense of justice’
NORRISTOWN >> A judge has urged a state court to uphold the murder conviction of a Norristown man who assisted his cousin in the gunshot slaying of a man outside a Pottstown bar, saying the conviction was not “shocking to one’s sense of justice.”
Michael Romain Hinton’s request for a new trial should be denied and the life imprisonment term imposed against him in September 2014 should be upheld, Montgomery County President Judge William J. Furber Jr. wrote in an opinion filed with the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
“(Hinton) presented this court with no reason why the weight of the evidence was such that any of defendant’s convictions should have been shocking to one’s sense of justice,” Furber wrote, adding his sense of justice, “indeed was not shocked at jury’s verdict.” “Accordingly, we believe that defendant is entitled to no relief on his claim that the verdicts were against the weight of the evidence.”
Hinton, 28, formerly of the 900 block of North Stanbridge Street, Norristown, was convicted by a jury in April 2014 of first-degree murder, punishable by a mandatory life sentence, and a weapons offense in connection with the 2:17 a.m. March 22, 2013, gunshot slaying of Victor Baez outside Brian’s Café in the 300 block of Jefferson Avenue in Pottstown.
With the verdict, jurors determined Hinton acted as an accomplice with his cousin, Maurice Laverne “Reece” Andrews Jr., then 20, of the first block of North Charlotte Street, Pottstown, during the slaying.
“Considered in its entirety, this evidence was fully sufficient for the jurors to find beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was a knowing conspirator and participant in the first-degree murder of Victor Baez,” Furber wrote, adding Hinton’s latest appeal is without merit.
Hinton appealed his conviction and sentence to the Superior Court claiming there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
In a bizarre twist, Andrews, who prosecutors alleged was the triggerman who shot Baez five times, will end up doing less time behind bars than Hinton, because a separate jury convicted Andrews of a lesser third-degree murder charge and acquitted him of firstdegree murder. In October 2014, Furber sentenced Andrews, now 21, to 35 to 70 years in prison on the murder-related charges.
Prosecutors alleged Andrews was involved in an ongoing feud with Baez.
At Hinton’s trial, Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Strubel argued that Hinton, even though he didn’t fire the fatal shot, was equally culpable for the murder under accomplice liability theories.
County Detective Todd Richard testified Hinton gave authorities at least four separate statements between March 22 and April 3, 2013, and in the majority of those statements Hinton placed himself and Andrews at the scene of the slaying.
Hinton eventually told Richard and Pottstown Detective Heather Long that Andrews approached him a day before the murder and confided in him that Andrews was involved in an attempted kidnapping of Baez’s nephew on March 20, according to testimony.
Hinton, according to his statement, claimed Andrews told him the plan had failed and he believed Baez wanted to harm him. In his statement, Hinton said Andrews asked him to come to Pottstown with him to “watch his back.”
Andrews and Hinton traveled by bus from Norristown to Pottstown on March 21 and armed themselves with guns, Andrews with a Glock semiautomatic pistol and Hinton with a .357-caliber revolver. In the early morning hours of March 22, the armed men went to the area of Brian’s Café, where Baez was known as a regular customer. According to Hinton’s statement to police, when Baez left the bar, Andrews approached him with a gun.
“Hinton said he also pulled his gun and Baez grabbed onto the barrel and a struggle ensued. During this struggle, Hinton said that Baez gained control of the revolver and the gun discharged,” according to a criminal complaint. “Hinton said Andrews fired his gun, striking both Baez and Hinton. Hinton said he was struck in the hand and that he left the revolver at the scene.”
Detectives recovered Hinton’s .357-caliber revolver next to Baez’s body, according to previous testimony and court documents. The Glock weapon that authorities said Andrews used has never been recovered.
At trial, defense lawyer Patrick J. McMenamin Jr. argued Hinton was in Pottstown “only for the protection of his cousin” and didn’t intend for a homicide to occur. Hinton, who also suffered a gunshot wound to the hand as Andrews opened fire on Baez, did not testify during the trial.