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New trial ordered in 2001 Shady Hills killing

An appeals court says the jury wasn't told lethal force was justified if used in self-defense.

By COLLEEN JENKINS
Published September 29, 2005

A Shady Hills man sentenced to life in prison for killing a father of six will get a new trial due to errant jury instructions.

During his June 2003 trial, David Brozey argued that he shot 44-year-old Jesus Sanches in self-defense. But Circuit Judge Daniel Diskey denied the defense's request to instruct jurors that the use of force was justified in the event that Brozey was resisting Sanches' attempt to commit an aggravated battery upon him.

Wednesday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that Diskey should have included the instruction.

"The trial court abused its discretion" in limiting the jury charge, the appellate ruling stated.

The ruling cited trial testimony given by Kathy Henry, the prosecution's key witness. During an April 1, 2001, barbecue at the Shady Hills mobile home she shared with Brozey, she saw her boyfriend motion for Sanches to join him in the master bedroom.

There the two men fought over her. Brozey felt Sanches, an electrician from Spring Hill, was spending too much time with Henry. She saw the two men locked arm-to-arm during their scuffle before hearing a gunshot.

Three days after the shooting, authorities found Sanches' abandoned car with his body wrapped in a blanket inside.

During the trial, Diskey agreed evidence existed to support a self-defense jury instruction. However, the judge included only a scenario in which Sanches might have been attempting to murder Brozey.

Assistant Public Defender Michael Tewell wanted additional scenarios added, such as aggravated battery, robbery and grand theft. Except for the aggravated battery, the appellate court said Diskey was correct to leave out all other felonies requested by the defense.

[Last modified September 29, 2005, 01:19:16]