Fresno 20-year-old convicted of murder in botched robbery seeks new trial
The lawyer for convicted murderer Kyrone Haygood is asking a Fresno court for a new trial, saying the prosecution’s case lacked enough evidence, detectives conducted a shoddy investigation and there was juror misconduct.
Attorney Amanda Moran filed her 193-page motion on Thursday and a hearing will be held on Aug. 27 in Judge Houry Sanderson’s courtroom.
If Sanderson accepts the motion, the 20-year-old Haygood will get another chance at proving he was not the one responsible for fatally shooting Wenshil “Brandon” Saechao, 19, on Aug. 24, 2018.
Haygood was convicted of murder on Feb. 7. If his bid for a new trial is denied, he will be sentenced to 50-years-to-life in prison.
“I truly don’t believe the evidence supported the conviction,” Moran said. “This is not justice.”
Moran said the prosecution’s theory that Haygood and accomplice Jaleen Hinton concocted a plan to rob Saechao of his marijuana was false. She believes Haygood and Hinton were the actual targets of a robbery by Saechao.
In her motion, Moran alleges Saechao had no intention of selling marijuana to the two men, but rather he wanted to steal their money. She said the plan was to buy half a pound of marijuana but Saechao only brought out 2 ounces.
“No evidence suggests Haygood ever engaged in discussions of a robbery; no evidence exists to support Haygood had knowledge of a robbery; no evidence suggests that Haygood participated in a robbery,” the motion states.
During the trial, prosecutor Elana Smith argued that Hinton and Haygood never intended to pay for the marijuana, they wanted to steal it. But once Saechao realized some of the cash Haygood and Hinton gave him was phony, a scuffle ensued.
In the chaos, Smith said, Haygood pulled out a gun and started shooting, killing Saechao and accidentally shooting Hinton in the back. The injury to Hinton, who was 17 at the time, left him a paraplegic.
Hinton told detectives several times that Saechao pulled out a gun and shot him and then he shot Saechao. Moran said detectives tried to coerce Hinton to change his story but he wouldn’t.
Hinton refused to testify during the trial, despite an agreement with the DA’s office to do so. Hinton was not charged with murder, but with robbery.
Moran also alleges the investigation ignored evidence that pointed to someone else being the shooter, as detectives seemed intent on blaming Haygood.
The night of the shooting, the crime scene was tampered with., Moran alleges. Saechao’s cell phone was moved by his family after the shooting and the weapon he allegedly used to shoot Hinton had likely been moved by his family, along with shell casings, money, marijuana and other relevant evidence before police arrived, according to the motion.
Moran also included evidence in her motion that one of the jurors, an elementary school teacher, spoke about the trial to her class, despite being instructed by the judge not to talk to anyone about the case..
The juror told students the details of the case as a way to teach them a lesson about the dangers of drugs.
