Marshal gets 15 years in killing of Calif. Navy seaman

[UpInArms]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/12636028.htm

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Family members watching from both sides of the courtroom remained still and silent Tuesday as a Montgomery County judge handed the former U.S. Marshal convicted in the shooting death of a Navy seaman from California a 15-year sentence.

Arthur L. Lloyd, who sat beside his lawyers in a green prison jumpsuit, showed little emotion as Circuit Court Judge Ann Harrington sentenced him to 25 years, then suspended 10.

<snip>

Lloyd's family members were followed by those of his victim, Ryan T. Stowers, 20, of Redding, Calif. They offered teary testimony and asked for the judge to issue the harshest punishment she could.

"If he didn't shoot my grandson in the back, he would still be here," said Stowers' grandmother Sharon Barnes. "(Lloyd's) family would not be suffering. Our family would not be suffering."

...more...

and now for some background:

first the spin that was release at the time:

Police Identify Navy Sailor Shot Dead by U. S. Marshal

http://www.stmarystoday.com/police_identify_navy_sailor_shot.htm

ROCKVILLE (Oct. 29) Shortly before 8:30 yesterday evening, Montgomery County Police 1st and 2nd District officers responded to the Mid-Pike Plaza in the 11800 block of Rockville Pike for the report of a shooting that had just occurred.

Preliminary investigation indicates that just prior to the shooting, off-duty Deputy United States Marshal Arthur Lloyd was driving on Rockville Pike with his family in his SUV when he became engaged in a traffic altercation with the driver of a Camaro. Both motorists pulled into the parking lot of the Mid-Pike Plaza and got out of their cars. A verbal dispute in the parking lot then escalated into a physical altercation. At some point, the driver of the red Camaro got into his car and drove in the direction of Deputy Lloyd, and the deputy fired at the driver of the Camaro striking him. The injured man was taken to Suburban Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The decedent has been identified as Ryan T. Stowers, 20, of Redding, California. He was enlisted in the United States Navy, and was in the area on Navy-related business.

...more...

then, a bit more info came out:

Is U.S. Marshal guilty of murder or of being black?

Arthur Lloyd, 53, is driving his SUV down a wide boulevard, Rockville Pike, in Montgomery County, which is in Maryland near Washington, DC. His entire family – wife and five children – are packed in the vehicle with him. They are heading to Mid-Pike Plaza in Rockville to buy a toy for one of his daughters.

It is only days before Halloween, and the roadway is packed with afternoon rush-hour traffic. Somewhere in the course of his trip to the shopping center, Lloyd did something to annoy Ryan Stowers, a 20-year-old who had only recently enlisted in the Navy. Stowers, who is from Redding, Calif., is driving a Chevy Camaro.

Maybe Lloyd cut in front of Stowers when he was switching lanes, maybe Lloyd came up to close to Stowers' bumper at some point, or maybe Stowers mistakenly blamed Lloyd for something another driver did. Whatever set Stowers off that day is not clear, but what he did next set in motion a chain of events that ultimately cost him his life.

...more...

then a bit more:

Marshal Accused of Murder

http://www.govexec.com/daileyfed/1104/110504lb.htm

Deputy U.S. Marshal Arthur Lloyd was charged with first degree murder Tuesday after the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man last week.

Authorities waited until Tuesday to arrest 53-year-old Lloyd because it was not clear whether he was acting in his capacity as a law enforcement officer Friday when he shot Ryan Stowers, a Navy seaman, after they got into a fistfight in the Mid-Pike Plaza parking lot in Rockville, Md.

During the fight, Lloyd, a Rockville resident, shot Stowers in his lower right leg with his service handgun, police said. Using his cell phone to call 911, Stowers got back into his car and started driving away. Lloyd then threatened to shoot Stowers again.

"If you leave, watch what's going to happen to you in the morning. You just hit a federal officer," Lloyd said, according to a police affidavit.

As Stowers drove past Lloyd and toward the mall, Lloyd fired three shots at Stowers, hitting him once in his back left shoulder, police said.

...more...

[HawkerHurricane]

1. Let me see if I have this straight...

Story One:
Man attempts to run over U.S. Marshall with car. Marshall kills man in self defense.

Story Two:
Man provokes U.S. Marshall into killing him.

Story Three:
After fistfight, U.S. Marshall shoots man in leg. When leaving scene, Marshall shoots man in the back.

That's quite some spin in story one and two.

[BikeWriter]

3. Damned fishy, huh?

[BikeWriter]

2. "back left shoulder" The guy was leaving, but was not threatening him?

[nebula]

4. Seems to me

Lloyd knew at the time h that his shooting of Stowers in the leg was unjustified (a criminal act), so he wanted to get rid of the witness by killing Stowers.

But unfortunately for Lloyd, his own wife is also an eyewitness to the act.

Lloyd then attempts to make up some half-baked story for killing Stowers, that he did it in self-defense, which his wife refuses to go along with. She then ends up testifying against her own husband because she can't bring herself to cover up for his dispicable act(shooting an unarmed man in the back).

Of course, this is speculation on my part of what went down.