Former lawyer convicted in condo-eviction slaying gets 45 years
A former Wyoming lawyer convicted last year in Florida of fatally shooting a maintenance man during a 2010 eviction from a South Beach condominium was sentenced Tuesday to 45 years in prison.
“Your actions turned what should have been a routine eviction into a tragedy,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez told Joseph Richer. Now 48, he was evicted by his own father after failing to make payments for years, the Miami Herald (sub. req.) reports.
Maintenance man Carlos Alberto Castellanos, who was accompanying police and a locksmith opening the door to the unit, was shot with a .357-caliber pistol.
Richer argued at trial that he initially fired a warning shot in self-defense, saying he did not know who was entering his condo. His second shot, the defense said, was involuntary, caused by Richer being shot by police.
However, the jury didn’t buy the story and apparently believed prosecutors who contended Richer fired at the group entering the apartment as the door swung open. He was convicted of second-degree murder in October after the jury deliberated for four hours.
The Associated Press and NBC Miami also have stories.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Former lawyer convicted of murder in slaying of maintenance man during South Beach condo eviction”
