edwardkellerInyo County court has denied Edward Keller, jr. a new trial and has sentenced him to 16 years to life in the beating death of James Williams in a home on the Bishop Indian Reservation on Thanksgiving, 2009.

Keller was 17 at the time but treated as an adult in court. Testimony described the scene in 2009 as a drunken, violent night in a home on Barlow Lane. Sheriff’s Officers said that Keller confessed to killing Williams by striking him with a weight bar.

In April, a jury found Keller guilty of second degree murder. After that time, Keller’s public defender, attorney Tom Hardy, filed a motion for a new trial. At the time, Hardy had said that he was pursuing all leal options for his client.

The motion for a new trial was denied July 19th. The court sentenced Keller on July 21st. He received 15 years to life for second degree murder and an additional year for use of a deadly weapon in the commission of the murder.

Attorney Hardy added that he did file a notice of appeal for Keller on the day he was sentenced. Keller headed for the Wasco induction prison following his sentencing.

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