PHOENIX – Pima County may get a chance to refile murder charges against a man for a series of events that included a 2017 shootout with police.

In a unanimous decision, the state Court of Appeals said Pima County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Teresa Godoy was wrong in refusing to allow prosecutors to use information from a cellphone found on Paul Gasbarri in a case against him. The judges said she used the wrong legal standing in suppressing the information.

What makes the ruling significant is that prosecutors, denied access to that information, dropped numerous charges against him, including first-degree murder. That left them only with being a felon in possession of a gun.

That resulted in an eight-year prison sentence.

But Deputy County Attorney David Berkman told Capitol Media Services that if the cell phone information becomes available, his office will refile the murder charges.

That, however, is not a given.

The Court of Appeals order sends the case back to the trial court to reconsider, this time using a different legal standard, to determine the admissibility of the information. And the appellate judges specifically said they are not suggesting what should the appropriate outcome of a new suppression hearing, β€œleaving that determination for the court.”

The case dates to a 2017 armed robbery and attempted kidnapping in front of Desert Sports and Fitness on North Pantano Road.

One of the alleged gunmen, Daniel Spear, fled and hid in a car wash before shooting at police. Police returned fire, hitting him multiple times and killing him.

Gasbarri fled the scene but was arrested several months later.

Berkman said the murder charge is based on Arizona law which says if someone is killed during the commission of a felony, then others involved can be charged with that person’s death.


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