Last Friday the jury decided that Larry Kent Graff, 54,a Sandy man was guilty of manslaughter in the fatal 2014 shooting of a roommate.
Originally he had been charged in the 3rd District Court with one count of murder, a first-degree felony, for the Dec. 18, 2014, death of 26-year-old Candice Christina Melo and one count of attempted murder, also a first-degree felony, for shooting at but missing Melo’s boyfriend, Michael Grimsley, during the same incident. Since the jury was permitted to consider finding Graff guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, in the death of Melo — the jury did.
Then in connection with Grimsley, the jury was also permitted to consider attempted manslaughter or aggravated assault, second-degree felonies, instead of the attempted murder charge, but we were told that the panel was hung on that aspect.
It’s “too early to comment” on whether the state will retry the count, according to Blake Nakamura, chief deputy of the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Graff has been scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 10, when he faces a punishment of up to 15 years in prison for his manslaughter conviction.
Defense attorney Greg Skordas said that under the circumstances it was the verdict that they asked the jury to find, and they were comfortable with that. “It wasn’t an issue of not guilty; we knew that he’d caused her death”he added.
Prosecutors were also “comfortable” leaving Graff’s fate in the hands of the jury, Nakamura said, though it wasn’t the outcome they’d hoped for.
“As the facts presented a difficult case, we weren’t surprised by the verdict,” Nakamura said.
Skordas had argued that the case is one of “imperfect self-defense,” and that, given the circumstances surrounding the shooting — that Graff believed he was being robbed — his actions might be considered reasonable. The trial began Tuesday.
Melo was struck three times — in the leg, back and head — falling onto the driveway.
She had been a temporary roommate of Graff and his girlfriend, Tennel Jensen.
The 7 a.m. shooting followed an argument between Melo and Jensen.
Last Thursday, Graff testified that he woke up to hear Jensen screaming for help and that when he went to her aid he was frightened and believed Melo, Grimsley and another man planned to rob him.
Knowing that Graff is a concealed weapon permit holder, he testified that he had pointed a .22-caliber pistol at Melo and told her and the others to get out of his house.
“I was scared as can be,” Graff continued, “I have never been that scared before.”
Graff added that he was afraid, because Jensen had a drug problem and that many of the people who visited her were drug users with violent crime in their pasts.
Graff said he gave chase to Melo when he saw him leaving the house with his laptop.
