Chapter 487: Attempted First-Degree Murder

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nick Reese found his superior, Terrell.

“You don’t plan on prosecuting him on intentional assault. Instead, you want to charge him with an attempted first-degree murder?” Terrell frowned and said, “This is a very serious crime. Although it is only an attempt, if convicted, the accused will face several years in prison. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Prosecutor Reese nodded. “Previously, I wanted to guide the jury using public opinion, but that plan failed, so I have to use other methods.”

“Tell me your current idea.” Terrell crossed his legs and appeared to be listening.

“I will first accuse the defendant of a severe crime and let the defendant realize that he might actually be convicted of a first-degree murder attempt once court session begins. Later, I will negotiate with the defendant, with the cancellation of the first-degree murder attempt accusation as a condition, to let him confess to intentional assault and assault on a police officer,” Prosecutor Reese said.

“You are planning to use the accusation of an attempted first-degree murder as the negotiating chip? But is the evidence we have enough?” Terrell asked.

“Indeed, we do not have enough evidence to charge him with an attempt at first-degree murder. However, I need to gain the initiative. After that, things will be much easier. During the actual negotiation, I will also propose that, as long as he confesses, I will reduce his sentence accordingly. It is a very tempting exchange,” Reese stated.

Terrell shook his head. “From what I know, the accused hired Wilfrid as his lawyer. He’s the best criminal lawyer in the US. With Wilfrid’s experience, these tricks of yours won’t be able to fool him.”

“I know that Wilfrid is amazing, but when we dueled against each other last time, he didn’t gain any advantage over me.” Reese smiled and continued, “Although I can’t guarantee that I will persuade the jury with 100% certainty, I can make the accused feel that he actually has a chance of being convicted on an attempted first-degree murder. Next, it will only be a matter of gambling on the chance of conviction, which I don’t think the accused will be willing to do. That’s because he’s a rich person! And if the negotiation were to take place at that time, I will be in a more advantageous position.”

“Indeed, what you say makes sense. When there’s a possibility of being convicted, rich people do not dare to gamble on the results.” Terrell crossed his arms in front of his chest and asked, “Just now you said that you want to magnify the effects of the bargaining chip. That means you already have a plan, right?

“Yes, I think I’ve found an exploitable point of breakthrough. Once in court, I will silence them! This lawsuit, I have to win it!” Terrell looked confident.

…

Wilfrid’s law firm.

“Mr. Li, there has been an update in the situation. The prosecutor, apart from wanting to sue you for damage to public property and police assault, wants to add another charge, an attempt at first-degree murder,” Lawyer Wilfrid said.

Hearing the word “murder,” Dai Li was shocked. Obviously, he also understood that it was a severe crime.

So Dai Li asked with a frown, “What’s going on? Didn’t they say they were going to sue me for intentional assault? How did it become an attempted first-degree murder? This should be several times more severe, isn’t it?”

“Mr. Li, you don’t have to worry. Based on my understanding of Nick Reese, this is just a trick he commonly uses. He starts with a more severe charge, letting the accused worry that he will be convicted of a serious crime. Then with the cancellation of the serious crime as a condition, he asks for the accused to confess to the other crimes. I think that in your case, there isn’t enough evidence to sue for attempted first-degree murder. So you mustn’t become frantic, and even more so, do not meet the prosecutor alone. No matter what they say or do, leave them to me,” Wilfrid cautioned Dai Li.

“Alright. If the prosecutor or the cops look for me, I will remain silent until I see you,” Dai Li said.

Wilfrid nodded with satisfaction. He lifted the documents in his hand and said, “Mr. Li, let’s organize the charges the prosecutor put against you. First is damage to public property, which is referring to a few bullet holes left behind on the police cruiser when you fired the shots. I feel that we don’t have to waste time and energy on this item. We can ask for the police to send us the bill of their car repairs, and we will compensate them accordingly. If they want an additional penalty, my suggestion is to directly submit the penalty amount. At most, it will only be 1,000 to 2,000 dollars.

“No problem. I have no objections,” Dai Li answered immediately.

“Next is the assault of a police officer. Although you did shoot towards the police, your real intention was to inform the police and not attack them. Besides, you didn’t cause any bodily harm to the police. So in my opinion, we have sufficient reason to deny this accusation.” Wilfrid sighed slightly and continued, “Mr. Li, do you know that you made the right decision back then?”

“What decision?” Dai Li asked.

“After you opened fire at the cops, you didn’t remain at the exhaust vent. That decision could not have been better. According to what I know, after you opened fire and exposed your position, a sniper immediately aimed at the exhaust vent. If you had appeared again, there was a high possibility that you would have been killed by the sniper of the police force. And from the cases of police assault that I’ve encountered, there’s not even the need to mention opening fire towards the police. Even those who had the guts to point a gun towards a police officer wouldn’t appear in the defendant’s seat,” Wilfrid said.

“Why?” Dai Li didn’t immediately understand what Wilfrid was implying.

“They were all gunned down by the police. Even if they didn’t die at the scene, they would be lying in a hospital bed, with no possibility of appearing in court.” Wilfrid spread out both his arms and continued, “The law gives the police the power to shoot, but most of the time, the power is abused. Sometimes, the police open fire not to subdue the criminal or to defend themselves, but to display the authority of the police.”

After Wilfrid finished, he turned to a new page of the document in his hand, and continued, “Finally, let’s talk about the attempted first-degree murder. Mr. Li, I don’t know how well you understand this charge, but I will still explain it to you. Murder is classified into two categories in most states of the US. They are first-degree murder and second-degree murder.”

“First-degree murder includes premeditated killings, multiple deaths caused by manslaughter, and killing in the process of committing a crime. Second-degree murder includes every other situation of killing not included in first-degree murder, such as unpremeditated killings, impulsive killings, killings not in the process of committing a crime, manslaughter that killed not that many people, intent to cause harm that leads to death, and etcetera.”

Dai Li’s brow furrowed together as he listened. He then asked, “Mr. Wilfrid, according to your description of first-degree murder, I feel that what I have done cannot be defined as first-degree murder. I don’t know how to interpret this attempt at first-degree murder in terms of the law.”

“When you shot at Mr. Gardner, it was a premeditated act. I believe Prosecutor Reese must be thinking of using this to cause a big fuss. He will associate your act of shooting and Mr. Gardner’s behavior with first-degree murder; however, from the law perspective, he doesn’t have enough proof. I’ve said it before, this is just their negotiating chip. He wants to first intimidate you, and later, he will force you into confessing to intentional assault or the police assault,” Wilfrid said confidently.

At that moment, the secretary knocked on the door and walked in.

“Mr. Wilfrid, there’s a prosecutor called Nick Reese hoping he can make an appointment with you. He says it’s regarding a case, he wants to exchange evidence before court session opens,” the secretary stated.

An “I told you so” smile immediately appeared on Wilfrid’s face. He said to Dai Li, “Mr. Li, it looks like I’m correct! The guy is already here to negotiate.”

…

“Mr. Wilfrid, I advise you to seriously consider persuading your client to confess as soon as possible. As long as he is willing to confess, I can still withdraw the charge of attempted first-degree murder, and only sue him for intentional assault and police assault. Furthermore, I will also try to get him a reduced sentence. Perhaps your client will face a heftier cash penalty, but being able to resolve the case quickly is beneficial for the both of us,” Nick Reese said in an organized manner.

Wilfrid laughed. “Prosecutor Reese, this suggestion of yours, I only see that it is beneficial to you. I don’t see any benefits to my client.”

“How could that be? Your client has no need to face charges against him for an attempted first-degree murder. For your client, isn’t that a great benefit?” Reese stated.

“My client is innocent.” Wilfrid shook his head firmly.

“In that case, we’ll meet in court.” Reese stood up and prepared to leave. Before he left, he added, “Mr. Wilfrid, this suggestion of mine, do consider it carefully. Or perhaps you can ask for the opinion of your client. Until the judge makes a judgment, my offer is still in effect.”

…

Reese walked out of Wilfrid’s law firm. The meeting had gone exactly as Reese expected. Wilfrid was the nation’s best criminal lawyer; naturally, he would never compromise under Reese’s intimidation.

Reese took out his phone and dialed the cell phone number of the chief of the LAPD.

“Chief, the thing I talked about previously, looks like we’re going to court. A few officers will need to appear as witnesses. To win this lawsuit, I hope that they will cooperate with me in court.”

“No, no, of course, we cannot falsify evidence. Falsifying evidence is against the law, we can’t break the law while knowing the law. What I mean to say is that I hope that the officers who will appear as witnesses can side with us when providing their testimonies. You can relax, I will guide them during questioning.”

…

It was the first time Dai Li was faced with a lawsuit, and it was also his first time in court.

Who would have thought that my first time in court would be as the defendant? Dai Li shook his head in resignation. He looked towards the witness stand, and the middle-aged man who was seated there.

The middle-aged man was a police officer. He was one of the two who reached the scene the quickest. He ran up to pull Sam Gardner out of the way, then hid behind the car with the other police officer.

“Officer Lori, can you briefly describe what happened on that day,” Nick Reese said.

The officer organized his thoughts and said, “On the day of the incident, me and my partner, Pane, dispatched to the scene of a shooting. After we arrived at the scene, we discovered an injured person lying on the ground. The injured person told us that he was shot. My partner Pane was responsible for keeping a lookout, and I went to check the condition of the injured man.”

“I walked to the front of the injured person and lifted him up. As I was walking back, we were attacked with gunfire again, and after hearing the shots, the three of us immediately got down. Later, Pane let me hide behind the car, so I immediately helped the injured man move behind the car. Pane then told me that the tire of the vehicle was blown out, so we immediately requested backup. After that, headquarters sent a professional anti-terrorist team, and I retreated back under the cover of the other officers.

Nick Reese listened seriously. He nodded as he listened, and when Officer Lori finished his description, he asked instantly, “Officer Lori after you and your partner arrived at the scene, did you know that the shooter was still hidden around the area?”

“No, we didn’t know if the shooter was around or not, so my partner stayed to keep watch,” Officer Lori answered.

“Then, even you guys didn’t know the location of the shooter?” Reese continued asking.

“We didn’t know,” the officer answered without hesitation.

Reese looked encouragingly at the police officer and asked, “From what you’ve said, you helped the injured person up, and you were shot at as you tried to provide aid, is that correct?”

“Yes,” the police officer answered without hesitation.

“Then I’d like to ask Officer Lori, what was the first thing that came to mind when you heard the gunshot?” Reese continued his questioning.

“The first thing I thought was that someone had assaulted the police,” the police officer immediately replied.

“I object!” Wilfrid immediately stood up. “The opinion of the witness is only formed by his subjective will, it is unrelated to the case! I object to the prosecutor bringing up unrelated issues.”

Reese quickly answered tit-for-tat, “Your honor, this witness was not only there at the scene when everything happened, but he was also the officer in charge of handling the case. As a professional, that was the professional judgment he made based on the situation at the scene. It should be able to be used as a reference for this case.”

The judge thought for a moment and nodded, “Overruled. As a police officer who was first to arrive at the scene of the crime, Officer Lori’s opinions are professional, and can be used as a reference for this case.”

A victorious expression flashed over Reese’s face. He then asked, “Officer Lori, when you called for backup, did you state that there was a police assault?”

“Yes. When my partner, Pane, called for backup from headquarters, he clearly stated this point. I heard it clearly from beside him,” Officer Lori replied.

“After that, did the shooter open fire again at the police?” Reese continued asking.

“He did. That was after the arrival of the backup. The shooter fired a few more shots at the officers,” Officer Lori answered firmly.

On the defense lawyer’s stand, Wilfrid kept noting down key points in his notebook.

Reese keeps repeating the words “fired at police.” Looks like he wants to pin the police assault charge on my client through the words of this police witness. But this sort of thinking is too naive, it might work on newbie lawyers, but to use this against me, haha, he’s naive…

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