THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270369
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 48 lines
A teenager who walked away from murder charges last year was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury Wednesday after prosecutors renewed the charges.
Paul Trevor Asby, now 18, sat in jail for nine months after the August 1994 drive-by shooting of Jerrell W. Stokes. He was released when a key prosecution witness refused to cooperate. Stokes' family wept and protested.
Later, when the witness agreed to testify, the charges were reinstated. Asby was tried this week, and the jury rendered its verdict Wednesday.
``The jury was out an hour and 45 minutes,'' Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jeffrey A. Swartz said. ``They came back with (guilty verdicts for) first-degree murder, malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm.''
Swartz said no one realized when they set Asby's sentencing for Aug. 28 that it would be the second anniversary of the victim's death. ``When I checked my calendar, it was very poignant as I realized it was the same date,'' Swartz said.
Asby faces up to life in prison, plus 28 years. He will be sentenced by a judge rather than a jury because he was a juvenile at the time of the slaying. Because the offense occurred before parole was abolished, he will be eligible for parole under the old rules.
Swartz said the victim was a member of the Bromley Boys gang and Asby was a member of the Fairlawn Boys.
Swartz told the jury that gang involvement played a role in the slaying, but that Asby was also settling a personal score. One of his best friends had been beaten up by a member of the Bromley Boys just six days before the killing.
Asby's attorney, Troy Spencer, said Wednesday he was disappointed by the verdict and had hoped for a hung jury. He argued to the jury that Asby's co-defendant, Curtis Ellenberger, had perjured himself in earlier testimony, and that Ellenberger's testimony that Asby pulled the trigger was self-serving.
Ellenberger faces up to 25 years in prison for first-degree murder as part of a plea agreement that included his testimony against Asby.
Prosecutors say the killing happened as Asby and Ellenberger drove past a party in the 5100 block of E. Princess Anne Road on Aug. 28, 1994, about 1:30 a.m. Testimony showed that Asby fired five shots into a group of party-goers on the sidewalk, hitting Stokes in the abdomen.
Stokes bled to death.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING MURDER ARREST TRIAL
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