Opinion ID: 867456
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Arrest, Investigation, and Trial

Text: ¶ 13 Fottler's body was soon discovered in Arizona. Investigative leads from United States Customs agents quickly led Yavapai County Deputy Sheriffs to Roseberry, whose motorhome customs agents had observed while surveilling a Tucson stash house. ¶ 14 An arrest warrant and indictment were issued for Roseberry. The State timely notified him that it would seek the death penalty, but the notice did not specify the aggravating factors on which the State would rely. ¶ 15 The jury found Roseberry guilty of the first-degree murder of Fottler, transportation of more than two pounds of marijuana for sale, and conspiracy to transport more than two pounds of marijuana for sale. The court held the aggravation phase of the trial the next day. The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Roseberry committed the murder for pecuniary gain. After a six-month delay and the dismissal of two jurors, the court held the penalty phase of the trial. ¶ 16 On June 6, 2003, the jury returned a verdict of death, finding that any mitigating factors were not sufficiently substantial to call for leniency. On July 14th, the judge sentenced Roseberry to death for Fottler's murder, to an aggravated term of ten years' imprisonment for conspiracy to transport two pounds or more of marijuana for sale, and to a consecutive aggravated term of ten years' imprisonment for transportation of marijuana for sale. An automatic notice of appeal was immediately filed, challenging all of Roseberry's convictions and sentences.