Steele found guilty
Charge: second degree murder in Larkin death
Gregg Steele – the man who admitted to killing World Cup Cafe owner Patrick Larkin in late August of 2019 – was found guilty of second degree murder – a second degree felony – and tampering with evidence for moving Larkin’s .22 caliber rifle and his body – both third degree felonies. Steele now faces up to 22 years in prison.
After deliberating only an hour, the jurors came back with a verdict of guilty on all three charges. After three days of witness testimony and lengthy closing arguments by the state and the defense, the jurors ultimately decided that Steele’s claims of self-defense didn’t hold up to the state’s case which framed him as the aggressor, as his testimony to various witnesses had several inconsistencies.
Due to the quick nature of the jury’s decision, Clark said he plans to make a motion to set aside the verdict for lack of substantial evidence. “That’s the fastest jury verdict on any case I’ve ever seen and I have some concerns,” he said. He claimed “there’s no way after four days that they actually spent sufficient time reviewing the [jury] instructions.”
Prosecutor for the Eighth Judicial District Consuelo Garcia disagreed, saying that what the jury did was up to them. “It may be concerning, but what the jury did today is exactly how the process is supposed to work.”
Eighth Judicial District Judge Jeffrey Shannon, who presided over the case, agreed that the jury’s deliberations were extremely quick, but agreed that as of now, Steele stands guilty as charged.
The trial, which was scheduled for a full week, wrapped up early, as both sides steered clear of attacking the character of Larkin or Steele, leaving a handful of witnesses out of the trial. Instead, both sides chose to rely solely
upon the hard facts of the case, which were few. Impassioned closing arguments made by both sides essentially came down to whether Steele’s claim of self-defense was justified.
Prosecutor for the Eighth Judicial District Consuelo Garcia argued that the holes in the evidentiary testimony given by Steele to various witnesses were proof that the incident didn’t occur the way Steele said it did.
Steele claimed in testimony to witnesses that Larkin attempted to come on his property in the middle of the night with a gun, and that as Larkin crossed Steele’s fence line Larkin was firing shots, however no shell casings were found to indicate this. Steele also maintains he shouted and whistled loudly, attempting to alert Larkin to his presence, something Garcia says someone fearing for his life would not do. “You’re going to run away, or stay hidden, not whistle and jump out,” she said.
He then claimed that a struggle ensued and that he wrestled a pistol away from Larkin, then shot him in self-defense. Dr. Ian Paul, pathologist with the Office of the Medical Examiner explained how the Larkin’s gunshot wounds seemed inconsistent with a close struggle. He explained how there was no stippling around Larkin’s wounds – or residue from gunpowder – indicating that he was shot from a distance greater than 3 feet. He also explained the angle of shots: one shot entered Larkin’s chest from the left side, went through his lungs and heart, exited his right side and ended up lodged in his right arm. Garcia called this a “kill shot.” Larkin also had another gunshot in the back of his right knee.
In testimony to Agent Bennett with the New Mexico State Police, Steele said that as Larkin approached, Steele was hidden behind his generator. However, in testimony from Gil John Tafoya, owner of the land on which Steel was staying, Tafoya said Steele mentioned crouching behind a bush. Garcia pointed this contradiction, also saying that it was reason to believe Steele wasn’t actually fearing for his life. “He’s shown you through words and actions that he didn’t act out of self-defense,” said Garcia.
Steele’s ex-cellmate Jeremy Cozart testified that Steele said Larkin approached with a pistol and a holster, yet the defense couldn’t prove Larkin owned a pistol, and his partner Andrea Meyer and friend Dan Broadhurst both testified that he did not. There was evidence of Steele owning several guns, however. The fact that Larkin was shot with a large caliber bullet from a handgun that was never recovered was “convenient for him,” said the state, and wondered why Steele “would get rid of another piece of evidence that’s going to validate his story.”
Garcia called Steele’s statements “self-serving, inconsistent lies.” She explained that there was no sign of a struggle on the property Steele was staying on, and that the incident could have just as easily taken place on Larkin’s property, though there was no evidence presented to suggest that was the case.
Steele’s defense attorney Thomas Clark relied heavily on the self defense case, not denying Steele shot Larkin, and in a panic, tried to move the body. Clark argued Larkin had to have been the aggressor in the situation, as all testimony and evidence indicate Larkin left his house, crossed two fences, and came onto Steele’s property with a rifle, thus appearing as the aggressor in the case.
Clark reminded the jury that they must rely solely on the facts presented; in this instance secondary testimony from Greg Steele via several witnesses. He reminded them the state had not presented evidence to contradict what Steele was saying, and called the state’s version of events speculation, and reminded jurors not to speculate.
Clark tried to play up the role of Steele as the “little man in the trailer,” and Larkin as “the big man on the hill,” claiming that had the tables been turned he believed Larkin would have been treated differently than Steele due to classism. “Just because it’s a trailer house, just because he wasn’t as successful, doesn’t make him any less entitled to defend himself from an aggressive man with a gun.”
In the end, the jury agreed that this was not a case of self-defense, but a murder. Steele’s behavior after Larkin’s death was something the state relied on heavily to show he did not have remorse, presenting statements that Steele had gone to visit Larkin’s World Cup Cafe after killing him. “That is not what an innocent man does,” said Garcia.
“Chief Deputy Consuelo Garcia and Senior Trial Attorney Angela Macdonald presented a well-prepared case,” said Eighth Judicial District Attorney Marcus Montoya. “We can’t take any verdict for granted – all we can do is present the evidence without passion or prejudice and allow the community to determine the rest. Justice was served, and the community can feel safer knowing this convicted murderer is no longer a threat.”