N.J. appeals court overturns murder conviction of man who killed his girlfriend’s drug dealer

TRENTON, N.J. (TCN) -- An appeals court vacated a man’s murder conviction two years after he was found guilty of fatally shooting his girlfriend’s drug dealer while he was "in a rage."

The Superior Court of New Jersey Appeals Division published their opinion June 12 announcing the decision to overturn Michael Owens' convictions of first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree theft in connection with the 2020 shooting death of Luis Gonzalez. The court upheld the jury’s decision to find him guilty of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun and third-degree aggravated assault.

On July 17, 2020, the Hamilton Township Police Department received a call about a domestic incident between Owens and his girlfriend, who was only identified as M.L. Owens reportedly got mad at M.L. because she received a phone call from her drug dealer, Luis Gonzalez, so he choked her. She managed to free herself, but Owens took her phone and drove away in her car. M.L. called police from a neighbor’s house, then contacted Gonzalez.

About 45 minutes later, Trenton Police Department officers responded to a shooting call about a mile away and found Gonzalez critically injured on the ground in front of his house. Medics transported him to a nearby hospital, where he died from two gunshot wounds to the torso.

Surveillance video from the area showed a man matching Owens' description firing at Gonzalez from M.L.’s car. Detectives obtained text messages between M.L. and Gonzalez, which confirmed she purchased drugs, including heroin, from him. In other messages, Owens became upset with M.L. due to her heroin use.

Owens was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purpose, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit, third-degree aggravated assault, fourth-degree theft by unlawful taking, and second-degree certain person not to have a weapon. Prosecutors later dropped the last charge.

Owens' trial lasted from July 19, 2022, to Aug. 23, 2022. Following his conviction, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

According to the court’s opinion, Owens appealed the decision because he argued the jury was not informed they could convict him of manslaughter, which is a lesser offense. Passion/provocation manslaughter is determined based on four elements: "[1] the provocation must be adequate; [2] the defendant must not have had time to cool off between the provocation and the slaying; [3] the provocation must have actually impassioned the defendant; and [4] the defendant must not have actually cooled off before the slaying."

A previous court ruling determined a trial court "has an independent obligation to instruct on lesser included charges when the facts adduced at trial clearly indicate that a jury could convict on the lesser while acquitting on the greater offense."

Owens said the evidence "clearly indicated passion/provocation manslaughter," rather than murder.

The opinion said Owens finding out about his girlfriend’s heroin use "struck at the core of his romantic and familial relationship with M.L. and their minor child."

Other aspects of the overturned convictions include that the lower court "erred in failing to sever the domestic violence aggravated assault from the homicide offenses" and that they "improperly told the jury it was required to accept the stipulation that Mr. Owens did not have a permit for a handgun."

One of the appeals court judges dissented the ruling, including saying Gonzalez "did not provoke" Owens and that Owens "had time to cool off" before the shooting.

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