Brock Alfred James Collette is not guilty of the first-degree murder of David Tycoon Hall but committed voluntary manslaughter, a Sutter County jury decided Monday.
Collette shot Hall in the face on Jan. 5, 2006, in a house on Royal River Drive in Yuba City. He claimed self-defense because of death threats allegedly made by Hall, an alleged member of the Crips street gang.
Hall’s relatives left Judge Chris Chandler’s courtroom in anger, while Collette’s relatives cried over a verdict that could still mean a lengthy prison sentence for the 19-year-old.
“He should get life because he murdered my child,” Hall’s mother, Levette Hall, said loudly while the hearing was in progress.
“Brock Collette is a coward,” Hall said as she walked behind the killer on the way to the door.
“We love you, Brock,” said Collette’s father, wrestling coach Jeff Collette, just before he was ejected from the heavily-guarded courtroom.
Other Collette family members declined comment as they left the courthouse.
Levette Hall and her husband, Bayard Hall, could not be found for comment.
The same jury is scheduled to reconvene today for what Chandler called a second trial on aggravating circumstances that Deputy District Attorney Susan Green added to charges last month – namely that Collette shot Hall with planning and sophistication, and that Hall was vulnerable.
The second trial is needed because of recent state and federal court rulings that leave unclear a judge’s ability to impose an upper-term prison sentence, said prosecutors.
Under the state Penal Code, the sentence for voluntary manslaughter can be three, six or 11 years. But the jury also found Collette guilty of using a firearm to kill Hall, an enhancement that could add many years to the sentence.
Extra security, including both Sutter County deputies and Yuba City police officers, was added for Monday’s hearing.
Besides going through the usual weapon detector at the front door of the courthouse, spectators were “wanded” by officers with metal detectors at the courtroom door.
According to testimony during the two-week trial, the feud between Collette and Hall began when Hall took a digital camera from Collette and refused to pay for it. Hall then became offended when Collette excluded him from an invitation to Collette’s house in Tierra Buena.
Jurors picked from three possible verdicts: first-degree murder, second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, each with a lengthy definition that Chandler took almost an hour to explain.
During their two-day deliberation, jurors requested that Collette’s testimony be read back in its entirety but asked for little else, said Green.
this is fuckin bullshit.....i know both partys invovled but this is hella bullshit.....its ethier
1: because hes white
2: because he had a bad ass attornery?
3: he did a lot of snitching
it should of be pre-mediated....he went to this lil party were dude was.....started fighting/arugeing wtih him.....black guy (who got murderd) told him to leave and white dude (who got off) left for a second came back with a gun and what ever happend after that....
thats bullshit.....you dont come back inside with a gun and say its self defense
Collette shot Hall in the face on Jan. 5, 2006, in a house on Royal River Drive in Yuba City. He claimed self-defense because of death threats allegedly made by Hall, an alleged member of the Crips street gang.
Hall’s relatives left Judge Chris Chandler’s courtroom in anger, while Collette’s relatives cried over a verdict that could still mean a lengthy prison sentence for the 19-year-old.
“He should get life because he murdered my child,” Hall’s mother, Levette Hall, said loudly while the hearing was in progress.
“Brock Collette is a coward,” Hall said as she walked behind the killer on the way to the door.
“We love you, Brock,” said Collette’s father, wrestling coach Jeff Collette, just before he was ejected from the heavily-guarded courtroom.
Other Collette family members declined comment as they left the courthouse.
Levette Hall and her husband, Bayard Hall, could not be found for comment.
The same jury is scheduled to reconvene today for what Chandler called a second trial on aggravating circumstances that Deputy District Attorney Susan Green added to charges last month – namely that Collette shot Hall with planning and sophistication, and that Hall was vulnerable.
The second trial is needed because of recent state and federal court rulings that leave unclear a judge’s ability to impose an upper-term prison sentence, said prosecutors.
Under the state Penal Code, the sentence for voluntary manslaughter can be three, six or 11 years. But the jury also found Collette guilty of using a firearm to kill Hall, an enhancement that could add many years to the sentence.
Extra security, including both Sutter County deputies and Yuba City police officers, was added for Monday’s hearing.
Besides going through the usual weapon detector at the front door of the courthouse, spectators were “wanded” by officers with metal detectors at the courtroom door.
According to testimony during the two-week trial, the feud between Collette and Hall began when Hall took a digital camera from Collette and refused to pay for it. Hall then became offended when Collette excluded him from an invitation to Collette’s house in Tierra Buena.
Jurors picked from three possible verdicts: first-degree murder, second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, each with a lengthy definition that Chandler took almost an hour to explain.
During their two-day deliberation, jurors requested that Collette’s testimony be read back in its entirety but asked for little else, said Green.
this is fuckin bullshit.....i know both partys invovled but this is hella bullshit.....its ethier
1: because hes white
2: because he had a bad ass attornery?
3: he did a lot of snitching
it should of be pre-mediated....he went to this lil party were dude was.....started fighting/arugeing wtih him.....black guy (who got murderd) told him to leave and white dude (who got off) left for a second came back with a gun and what ever happend after that....
thats bullshit.....you dont come back inside with a gun and say its self defense
