Convicted murderer Roger Wilson was transferred from the Cochise County jail to the Arizona Department of Corrections last week after other charges pending against him from the same 2017 murder case were dismissed.
Wilson, now 54, was found guilty by a jury in September 2022 of second degree murder in the June 2017 fatal shooting of Jose “JD” Arvizu. A judge sentenced Wilson on Feb. 17 to a 20-year prison term with full credit for the more than 5.6 years he has already spent in custody.
The sentencing took place despite impassioned arguments by defense counsel Chris Kimminau to have his client undergo a mental health evaluation to determine Wilson’s competency to assist with putting forth arguments for a mitigated sentence of only 10 years.
Judge Timothy Dickerson declined to delay sentencing, finding no reason to believe Wilson was not competent despite a previous court ruling that forced Wilson into a monthslong competency restoration program.
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After sentencing, it was expected that Wilson would remain in the Cochise County jail to await trial on three other felonies related to the same 2017 shooting, including weapons misconduct and tampering with evidence. But a week later the Cochise County Attorney’s Office asked Dickerson to dismiss those charges, freeing Wilson for transfer to ADC custody.
Wilson was also expected to be charged with new crimes after he assaulted a member of his legal team inside the courtroom at the sentencing hearing. Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed the State has a seven-year statute of limitations to file the assault charges.
A notice of appeal as well as notice of petition for post-conviction relief have already been filed on Wilson’s behalf. It is unlikely, however, that either effort will be heard by a court until late this year or even into 2024.
This will be the second time Wilson has gone into ADC custody in connection with Arvizu’s death. A 2020 conviction for first degree premeditated murder was overturned on appeal in May 2022 due to a legal error by Dickerson. It then took several months for a new jury to be seated for the retrial.
In both trials, jurors rejected Wilson’s claim that he fired one round from a shotgun in self-defense after Arvizu walked up on and purportedly charged at Wilson around 1 a.m. on an unlit road outside the home of Wilson’s mother a few hours after the two exchanged words at a nearby party.
Arvizu was struck in the chest before walking to a nearby residence where he collapsed. He died a sort time later at a local hospital.
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