2nd-Degree Murder Conviction in Waldorf Killing
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Sunday, June 15, 2008
A man accused of gunning down a 71-year-old lumber mill owner in Waldorf last year was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday, after a trial in which he admitted drunkenly shooting in the victim's direction in an attempt to shoot at someone else.
Taking the witness stand in his defense, James F. Swann testified that he had been drinking most of the day Oct. 3, when he decided to go shoot at a man who he suspected had sexually abused his sister. The shots fatally wounded a bystander, Joseph G. Hickman, as he stood in front of his residence in the 3500 block of Forest Glenn Court.
Swann was convicted of second-degree murder in Hickman's death and attempted first-degree murder for shooting at the other man. Jurors acquitted Swan of the more serious charge of first-degree murder for Hickman's slaying and another charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He faces a possible life sentence.
Swann's attorney, Thomas C. Mooney, presented a "voluntary intoxication" defense, arguing that Swann was essentially "sleepwalking" when he shot Hickman. After the trial, Mooney said that jurors "obviously did not buy" the idea that Swann was too drunk to know what he was doing at the time of the shooting but that their verdict was a "pleasant surprise."
"I would say, when I read the file for the first time, I thought this was going to be a very tough case," he said, noting the prosecution had a confession, motive and witnesses placing Swann at the scene. "You had just about everything you needed to prove the case."
Mooney said he plans to file a motion seeking a new trial. Charles County Deputy State's Attorney Jerome Spencer did not return a phone message seeking a comment after the verdict.
Because Swann was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, jurors could have transferred the "intent" of that crime to support a conviction on the first-degree murder charge, Mooney said. Instead, they chose to convict on the lesser charge of second-degree murder for Hickman's death.
"They said, 'Hey listen, he didn't mean to shoot Hickman,' " Mooney said. "They probably agreed that he was drunk but just not to the point where he could not form that criminal intent."
Another man charged in Hickman's killing, 29-year-old William Nathaniel Coates, is scheduled to go on trial in August.
