Cassels guilty on 2nd-degree murder charge

Cassels guilty on 2nd-degree murder charge

Oct. 21, 2000

BY MATT GLECKMAN
Journal Staff Writer

After roughly three hours of deliberation, jurors in Cortez District Court on Friday afternoon found Bradley Scott Cassels guilty of second-degree murder.

Sentencing for the crime is still pending.

Cassels, who shot his roommate nine times on the evening of Jan. 11, took the stand on Friday in his own defense.

The 46-year-old man was charged with first- and second-degree murder by the Montezuma County District Attorney’s Office on Jan. 18.

The presumptive prison range for second-degree murder is eight to 24 years. First-degree, premeditated murder is punishable only by life imprisonment or execution.

The suspect had pleaded not guilty to both charges.

According to police reports, Cassels shot 38-year-old Greg Allen Morris nine time with his 9mm handgun at their shared apartment at 111 N. Piñon Drive in Cortez.

In court on Friday an emotional Cassels presented jurors with his version of the night of the shooting.

"I don’t remember taking the safety off (the gun) or pulling the trigger," Cassels told the court.

The suspect said that on the night of Jan. 11, he had come home at 5 p.m. after working all day and then went to his room to watch TV and play a video game while drinking a few beers he had picked up on his way home from work.

Cassels told the court that he had bought two quarts of beer at Handy-Mart on his way home from work and was feeling intoxicated after drinking nearly all of it. He said he had not eaten anything since lunch on Jan. 10. Cassels registered .094 on a blood-alcohol test taken at approximately 9 p.m. on Jan. 11.

He said that after watching TV and playing the video game he went into the bathroom to take a shower and that was when Morris came home and burst into the bathroom.

"He was like a wild man. He came bursting into the bathroom and threw the shower open and said, ‘We have to fight,’ " Cassels said. The defendant added that Morris was acting "different" that night.

"I had never seen him like this before. He seemed drunk and angry. I had seen him drunk before but not like this," Cassels said. A post-mortem showed that Morris’ blood-alcohol content was .288 the night of the shooting, according to Cortez police reports.

The defendant said tension had been building between the two men for some time before the incident. According to witnesses who testified at the trial, Morris was not happy with the living situation and wanted Cassels to find an new place to live. Cassels had also apparently been two days late on paying rent.

After Morris burst into the bathroom Cassels got out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel and offered Morris the bathroom, according to his testimony.

However, Morris continued to shove and threaten him in the living room, Cassels said.

During the investigation police found a metal rod in the living room. Cassels told the court that Morris, in the past, had said that the metal rod would make a good weapon. However, Cassels did not remember Morris threatening him with the rod on the night of the shooting.

"I told Greg (Morris) that I didn’t want to fight," Cassels said, "but he kept shoving me. . . and calling me a ‘no good son of a bitch.’ He said that he was going to kick my ass. . . put me into the hospital," he said.

Cassels said that at that point he went into his bedroom to get his gun, which was kept under the top right corner of his bed.

"Then next thing that I remembered was that the gun was empty.. . I was looking over Greg and thinking, ‘Oh, my God — I shot Greg,’ " Cassels said.

Police records show that Cassels then put the gun on his bed and called 911 to report the incident.

Upon arrival of the Cortez police, Cassels came to the front door of the apartment and surrendered himself.

Cassels testified that he did not intend on shooting his roommate.

"I thought that if (Morris) saw the gun he would leave me alone so that I could get dressed and leave the apartment," he said.

An autopsy showed that Morris had been shot five times in the back, twice in the chest, once in the chin and once in the buttocks.

During closing arguments District Attorney Mike Green said of the defendant "You didn’t mean to kill (Morris) — but you shot him nine times." Green said the majority of the shots traveled through the center of Morris’ body, hitting vital organs, including the heart and lungs.

Green added that the five shots in the back would lead one to believe that Morris was trying to move away from the gun and that he was not posing a threat to Cassels.

Green described Cassels’ actions following the shooting as "calm and collected." He did not show remorse, Green said.

Cassels knew what he was doing when he went to his room and got the gun, Green said, adding that the first time that Cassels broke down and cried was when he realized he was going to prison.

Green asked that the jury find Cassels guilty of murder in the first degree.

However, defense attorneys argued that there was no evidence to prove premeditated murder.

Defense attorney Pam Brown of the public defender’s office said that the shooting occurred in the heat of passion — provoked by extremely close living conditions and growing criticisms by Morris.

Brown added that Cassels’ ability to think clearly was clouded by alcohol.

She said neighbors described Cassels as the "nicer" of the two men.

They said Cassels was depressed but was working to get his life back in order.