Man convicted of Columbia murder seeks new trial

A Columbia man convicted of murder and weapons charges this month has asked a judge to grant him a new trial.

Denico Crawley filed a motion for a new trial last week through his public defender, Derek Roe. A jury convicted Crawley of four counts on Nov. 1 — second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action — in the 2017 fatal shooting of Quentin Hurt near Interstate 70 and Highway 63. Prosecutors said the shooting was the result of a dispute over a woman.

Roe listed 26 reasons a judge should acquit Crawley or give him a new trial. Among them are that the jury was selected from a panel that did not contain enough minority members, that the trial judge erred by overruling the defense attorney’s objection to a prosecutor reading jury instructions during jury selection and that the judge erred in guiding a prosecutor in framing an objection against hearsay and by overruling a defense objection to hearsay during questioning of a witness.

Sentencing in Crawley’s case is set for Dec. 17 before Judge Kevin Crane. It’s not clear when a judge will review Crawley’s motion for a new trial.

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