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A federal appeals court reinstated the death sentence Thursday for a San Jose man who killed a teenage employee during a 1979 liquor store robbery, saying the verdict was not affected by shackling that forced defendant Marvin Walker to limp to and from the witness stand. U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong had granted Walker a new trial in 2011, saying the jury may have been swayed by a plastic knee brace that sheriff's officers had fastened under one of Walker's pant legs. The trial judge never stated any reason for the shackling, and the jury deliberated at length on both Walker's guilt and his sentence, Armstrong noted. In overruling…Read More

The state Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction Thursday of a burglar who was driving down a freeway with his loot when a stolen stove fell off his pickup truck and caused a fatal crash. Cole Wilkins of Long Beach was convicted of first-degree murder on the grounds that he was still fleeing the scene of the burglary when the fatality occurred. He was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. In granting Wilkins a new trial, the court ruled unanimously that the trial judge should have allowed the jury to decide whether Wilkins, who was 62 miles from the burglary scene, had reached a place of "temporary safety"…Read More

The bicyclist who struck and killed a pedestrian in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood last year must stand trial on felony vehicular manslaughter charges, a judge ruled Thursday. Chris Bucchere cried softly during the final argument of his preliminary hearing when his attorney described him as a good person and a family man who gives back to his community. Bucchere, a 36-year-old San Francisco resident, was riding his bicycle south on Castro Street during morning rush hour last March 29 when he collided with Sutchi Hui, 71, of San Francisco, who was crossing in the south crosswalk along Market Street with his wife. Hui died of his injuries four days later.…Read More