[August 12, 2011] Jurors focus on tape to determine intent in Arlington clerk's slaying Tweet FORT WORTH, Aug 12, 2011 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Attorneys on both sides in the capital murder trial of Hayward George Slater Jr. asked the jury to consider videotape evidence, but to reach different conclusions. In closing arguments Thursday, both sides repeated what they said in opening statements: that the crucial question is intent. Jurors must decide whether Slater, 47, intended to kill 54-year-old Prem Sharma when he robbed a Shell convenience store on South Bowen Road in Arlington on May 29, 2010. Slater's intent is the difference between capital murder and lesser charges. Slater's attorneys -- Mark Daniel and Tim Moore -- have conceded that Slater robbed the store and shot Sharma with his .44-caliber handgun after the clerk grabbed a pricing gun to scare him off. Slater apparently believed that the pricing gun was a weapon, his attorneys have said. On Thursday, prosecutor Jack Strickland said there was only one way to determine Slater's intent. Look at the security videotape, he told jurors. Look at what Slater did. "This is a man who armed himself with a gun that it takes two hands to carry. Straight out of Hollywood," Strickland said. "He doesn't come in with no gun or a fake gun or a knife." Slater walked into the store fully intending to do whatever it took to commit this robbery, Strickland said. "Then he has the unmitigated gall to blame this on Prem Sharma," Strickland said. "If only [Sharma] hadn't pulled out that pricing gun. What kind of topsy-turvy world is that where you blame the victim for everything? "Prem Sharma stood up to this evil man. I ask that you also have the courage to stand up to him." Moore also asked the jury to look at the videotape, saying he "thanked God" for the store's security camera. Without the recording, Moore said, no one would believe that Slater shot the clerk because he panicked at the sight of a plastic pricing gun. "We know what Prem Sharma's intention was -- to scare him off," Moore said. "Prem Sharma pulls a pricing gun and Hayward Slater shoots him one time. If Hayward Slater wanted to kill Prem Sharma, wouldn't he have shot him with every bullet that he had? But he doesn't. He runs and he ducks." Co-prosecutor David Hagerman said robberies don't always go as planned. Slater took his gun because he wanted to instill fear in the person he was robbing and he knew he might have to kill someone if the robbery went awry, Hagerman said. "You look at this video," Hagerman asked the jury. "Is there any question what's about to happen if Prem Sharma doesn't do what he is told. Does Hayward Slater ever look away? This murder was done up close and personal. When you look at a man's face and shoot him at arm's length, what do you think is going to happen?" Hagerman suggested that Slater had another reason for running and ducking as he made his way out of the store. Slater knew exactly what his gun was capable of and did not want to get hit by a ricocheting bullet, Hagerman said. "This was no impulsive act or momentary lapse in reason," Hagerman said. "No matter how many times you play this video back, it will still only show one thing -- the shooting of Prem Sharma from an arm's length away." Jurors could acquit Slater or find him guilty of capital murder, murder or aggravated robbery. If they convict him of capital murder, he will automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole. If they convict him of murder or aggravated robbery, the trial will move to a punishment phase. The jury is to resume deliberations this morning in Judge George Gallagher's 396th state District Court. Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752 To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]