A man convicted in October of premeditated first-degree murder was transferred Thursday from the Cochise County jail to the intake complex at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Tucson to begin serving a life sentence, public records show.
Roger Delane Wilson was sentenced Nov. 23 to spend the rest of his natural life in prison after a jury ruled he did not act in self-defense in firing one round from a shotgun into the chest of Jose “JD” Arvizu around 1 a.m. June 22, 2017. The two men had an antagonistic relationship and exchanged words a few minutes earlier at the home of a mutual acquaintance.
Wilson, 52, drove away and was preparing to park his truck inside his mother’s nearby gated yard when he says he was surprised to find Arvizu, 23, standing in the unlit roadway near Wilson’s truck. He has insisted from the time of the shooting that he acted in self-defense after Arvizu charged at him.
The jury’s premediated murder verdict, however, meant Judge Timothy Dickerson had only one option under state law – imposing a life sentence without possibility of release during sentencing on Nov. 23. Wilson’s court file shows a notice of appeal has already been filed, but that process could take 12-18 months before the Arizona Court of Appeals formally considers the case.
Dickerson sealed the list of the jurors so it is impossible to ask what evidence or testimony played a role in their verdict. However, Wilson’s own words – in the hours after the shooting and in phone calls made during his 1,250 days in jail awaiting trial- may have cast doubt on his self-defense claim.
As the months spent in jail stretched into years, Wilson often engaged in phone conversations during which his description of the circumstances and his view on what happened changed. At least one of those calls was played for the jurors, who heard Wilson discuss the need for addressing robberies in the area that were not a high priority to local deputies.
Wilson believed Arvizu and his friends were among those committing crimes in the neighborhood, he told investigators.
Over the last three years Wilson was represented by eight different court-appointed defense attorneys. His case was also delayed several months while the judge and attorneys addressed whether Wilson was competent to assist in his own defense.
Court records show Wilson was convicted of punching one of his attorneys in the face during a legal conference at the Pima County jail. He currently faces criminal charged in Pima County for verbal threats made against another of his attorneys last year.
Wilson may also be charged with assault after he kicked his trial attorney last month following a hearing in a failed attempt to get a new trial.