OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A man sentenced to life in prison for shooting another man to death as he shoveled snow has lost his bid to have his first-degree murder conviction overturned.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday upheld the conviction of 34-year-old Marke Hayes. Hayes was convicted by a Tulsa County jury of murder and possession of a firearm as a felon in the shooting death of 53-year-old Joseph Garfield, Jr.
Police say Garfield was shoveling snow in a north Tulsa neighborhood on Feb. 5, 2011, when he got into an argument with Hayes. Investigators say the two men knew each other and lived on the same street.
Hayes' defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Stuart Southerland, did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking comment.