FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied the appeal of a 17-year-old sentenced to 40 years in prison for beating and robbing a Springdale man after a closer look at whether the case should have been transferred to juvenile court.
Khiry Daushon Nichols and two other men beat and robbed Jose Jesus Alvarez-Meja, 36, on June 18, 2013. Nichols was 16 at the time but Washington County Circuit Judge William Storey denied a motion to transfer the case to juvenile court.
LEGAL LINGO
Appeal
To ask a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial court after final judgment or other legal ruling. Appellate review performs several functions, including: the correction of errors committed by the trial court, development of the law and precedent to be followed and anticipated in future disputes, and the pursuit of justice. In reviewing errors of the lower court, the errors focused on are of a legal nature; appellate courts will usually not disturb factual findings.
Source: uslegal.com
Nichols pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to aggravated robbery.
Alvarez-Meja suffered permanent brain injuries and now requires 24-hour care, according to court documents.
The appeals court judges reviewed the case in January after Nichols' attorney asked to be dismissed, and the judges said they were not convinced an appeal would be completely without merit.
The panelists gave several examples of factors they wanted to examine, including Nichols' IQ of 66 and he may have suffered from a mental defect, according to a mental evaluation.
Neither was mentioned in the trial court's order denying a transfer.
Others factors included the robbery being instigated by two men older than Nichols, Nichols being a follower rather than a leader, Nichols having no prior violent offenses, and a licensed social worker from the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center recommending Nichols's case continue in the juvenile system.
After reviewing the case further, the justices said Wednesday they found no clear error by Storey and Nichols' IQ was taken into consideration. They also noted the serious, violent nature of the crimes, Nichols' criminal history and conduct.
"His past conduct provided an indication to the trial court that Nichols would be unlikely to have success in a juvenile court for a third time," Judge David Glover wrote. "While using marijuana and running away may not be considered adult activities in some circumstances, that does not negate the findings that Nichols was a three-time offender who had committed serious offenses in a violent manner against a person, leaving that person seriously incapacitated."
Nichols' co-defendants were Timmie Robinson, 19, and J'Donta Britt, 20, both of Springdale.
Robinson pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 40 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction with 20 years suspended.
Britt was found guilty of being an accomplice to aggravated robbery and misdemeanor fleeing. He was sentenced to 30 years.
Alvarez-Meja was attacked in the parking lot of the Brookhaven Apartments in Springdale.
NW News on 06/18/2015