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ELKO, Nev. (AP) — A lawyer for a Spring Creek man appealing his second-degree murder conviction says the jury should have been allowed to hear evidence about the victim's reputation for picking fights.
Patrick Dunn is serving up to 30 years in prison for the fatal shooting of Erik Espitia during a brawl in downtown Elko in May 2012. He claimed self-defense. The Nevada Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming months.
The Elko Daily Free Press reports (http://tinyurl.com/msv7kus) defense attorney Fanny Forsman recently told the justices the trial judge erred by banning testimony that Espitia regularly got in trouble after drinking. She says it was important to the defense's theory that Espitia was the initial aggressor.
District Attorney Mark Torvinen says no such evidence was ever uncovered and the conviction should stand.
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Information from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com
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