Fayetteville's Hill Sentenced To 40 Years, Tried To Kill Police Informant

Hill
Hill

FAYETTEVILLE -- A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for trying to kill a confidential police informant plus 10 years for selling methamphetamine.

Lasaba Hill, 42, was found guilty in Washington County Circuit Court on Tuesday of attempted capital murder, intimidating a police informant, stalking and delivery of methamphetamine. He was acquitted of battery and gun possession charges. Hill was sentenced to 15 years on the stalking charge and 10 years on the intimidation charge, to run concurrently with the other sentences.

Legal Lingo

Directed Verdict

A judge in a criminal case may direct a verdict of acquittal when the judge finds the prosecution has not proved its case, but the judge may not direct a verdict of guilty because that would deprive the accused of the constitutional right to a jury trial.

Source: uslegal.com

"We have a problem in this community with people who are not originally citizens of Washington County coming here and engaging in the drug trade," Judge William Storey told Hill during sentencing. "I hope these sentences will somehow deter that conduct and put an end to that serious problem."

Hill came to Fayetteville from Marianna. He had at least five prior convictions for drug crimes, theft and a sex offense dating to 1995 from Lee and Pulaski counties.

Storey told Hill he's a career criminal and the only way to stop him from continuing to commit serious crimes is to be put behind bars.

Scott Parks, a defense attorney, argued the jury's verdicts were inconsistent because he was convicted of attempting to kill the informant but acquitted of either battering him or using a gun against the informant. Parks said the informant's injuries were minimal.

Parks asked Storey to dismiss the attempted murder charge or sentence Hill to the statutory minimum of 10 years. Hill faced up to life in prison on the charge but the jury recommended 30 years. Storey denied the motion saying he wasn't in the practice of disturbing jury's verdicts and there was sufficient evidence Hill committed the offense.

Denis Dean, deputy prosecutor, said the jury believed Hill when he said he was going to kill the informant. Dean had asked for a life sentence.

The informant lived in the same apartment complex as Hill, on West Holly Street, near Oak Plaza, when the controlled buy was made in October 2013. Hill was arrested in April and bonded out of jail in May.

Hill learned the identity of the confidential informant in June from court documents. Prosecutors said Hill then began a sustained campaign of threats, stalking and intimidation to keep him from testifying.

Hill went to the man's apartment July 28 and attacked him on a balcony. The informant said Hill grabbed him and threw him down before telling his wife to bring a gun. The informant said Hill's wife brought a backpack and Hill took a semi-automatic handgun from it and hit the informant in the head with the gun.

The informant broke free and ran away with Hill chasing him. The gun was never found and prosecutors said they believe a family member got rid of it. A bullet was found in an area where the informant said the two had run.

Police found and arrested Hill a short time later at the Harps store on Garland Avenue.

NW News on 12/19/2014

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