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Court backs conviction in '03 Lowell murder
BOSTON, Mar 14, 2010 (The Sun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The state's highest court has upheld a Lowell man's first-degree murder conviction for the 2003 shooting of Kenneth Davidson over $180 worth of marijuana, despite the defense's argument that Calvin Sunahara confessed while in a pot-induced haze.
In the Supreme Judicial Court's opinion, Justice Robert Cordy wrote, "There was no evidence at trial that the defendant was under the influence of marijuana at the time of his arrest and subsequent interview."
He added, "At trial, the evidence of the defendant's guilt was overwhelming, and he does not challenge its sufficiency on appeal."
Sunahara was convicted in the slaying of Davidson, a small-time Lowell pot dealer. In his confession, Sunahara told police that he and his 16-year-old friend, Palleka Mak, robbed Davidson in the early-morning hours of May 15, 2003, to get money to buy marijuana.
Sunahara and Mak fashioned a crude silencer out of a roll of toilet tissue for a gun Sunahara had.
Davidson was robbed of 2 ounces of marijuana, then shot once in the head outside his downtown Lowell apartment. A Market Mills resident who heard the shot saw a man standing over the body. A surveillance video later showed that man to be Sunahara.
Images of Sunahara and Mak walking toward the apartment complex minutes before Davidson was killed were captured by the surveillance camera of a neighboring store.
Shortly after his arrest, Sunahara made a number of statements to the police about
his involvement in the shooting. He first asserted that he was not involved. Eventually he admitted that he was present and participated in the robbery, but claimed that it was Mak, not he, who fired the shot that killed the victim.
Defense attorney Myles Jacobson argued before the court that Sunahara told police he hadn't done any drugs on the morning of his arrest. But his girlfriend, Samay Sorn, who testified against Sunahara, told police he had been on a three-day pot bender.
Assistant District Attorney Casey Silvia argued that the girlfriend wasn't in contact with Sunahara for at least seven hours prior to his arrest.
When the police interviewed Sunahara, "he was coherent enough to minimize his role in the murder," Silvia said.
Sunahara is serving life in prison without parole.
Mak pleaded guilty in May 2006 to manslaughter. He was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in state prison. At the time of his sentencing he had already served three years.
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