New jury finds killer guilty of lesser charge

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2000 | 11:32 a.m.

A man whose first-degree murder conviction was overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

William "Chris" Shoels, 27, was charged in the Aug. 25, 1993, slaying of Gregory Hayes, who was shot to death in a dispute during a basketball game.

In 1995, jurors found Shoels guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison with possibility of parole. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.

The Nevada Supreme Court in 1999 overturned the conviction, in part, because jurors were informed that the defendant, who did not testify, had a prior criminal conviction.

Jurors in Shoels' second trial Tuesday found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon. He faces a maximum sentence of eight to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 9 by District Judge Mark Gibbons.

At the second trial, in which prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, Deputy Public Defenders Howard Brooks and Bill Gonzalez contended that Shoels acted in self-defense when he shot Hayes.

Witnesses said the unarmed victim had threatened to shoot Shoels while the two teammates argued about a pass.

The defense arguments were similar to those Brooks lodged during the first trial, when he said his client acted out of fear and lacked the premeditation for a first-degree murder conviction.

Both the victim and the defendant had prior criminal records. Authorities said Shoels was on house arrest at the time of the killing and left his residence without the permission of a probation officer.

Jurors in the 1995 trial learned that Hayes had 1984 convictions for robbery with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery with a deadly weapon.