New lawyer for Arnold man appeals conviction for 2015 murder

An Arnold man serving a life prison sentence for the fatal shooting of a family friend more than four years ago now contends his trial lawyer’s continued misrepresentation of his age to jurors warrants a new trial.

In an appeal filed Thursday, Erik Lamont Reed Jr., now 23, contends his trial lawyer provided an inadequate defense. Reed was convicted of first-degree murder for the Dec. 15, 2015, shooting of 51-year-old Donald Williams during a melee between both families.

During Reed’s trial in 2017, the defense attempted to mitigate the fatal shooting, saying it was not premeditated but was the fallout from a violent tussle that started out as a fight between two daughters of the Williams and Reed families.

Witnesses said Reed shot Williams in the torso as the men rolled around on the ground during the melee.

The appeal filed Thursday by new defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky called into question Reed’s defense at trial. Gorzelsky argued Reed’s case was hampered because an expert witnesses was not called by the defense to tell jurors how his young age at the time of the shooting was a mitigating factor in the case.

Gorzelsky also argued that Reed’s former lawyer misrepresented his client’s age to jurors by referring to him as a 20-year-old man. Reed was just 18 at the time of the fatal shooting, Gorzelsky said.

“The instant case turned on quick, overzealous and (an) unreasonable decision made by Mr. Reed in the context of a stressful and chaotic situation. In other words, it was the type of situation that left an 18-year-old adolescent particularly vulnerable due to underdeveloped abilities in impulse control, planning ahead and risk avoidance,” Gorzelsky wrote.

A previous appeal filed by Reed that claimed the evidence against him at trial was not sufficient to support the conviction was rejected last year by the state’s Supreme Court.