Convicted murderer to be resentenced

Convicted murderer John Wilbur McNeice will be resentenced in Yuma County Superior Court for the 2002 murder of a Yuma bartender.

"I won't call it a technicality," said prosecutor Tom Varela of the Yuma County Attorney's Office, who prosecuted the case. "But procedurally it wasn't done correctly."

On Feb. 4, 2005, Superior Court Judge Andrew Gould sentenced McNeice to two statutory life terms in prison for the murder of Kandyce Grumbine, and three years for robbery that occurred in the course of the murder.

The first of two felony first-degree murder convictions was for killing Grumbine in the commission of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault, and the other murder charge was for her death during a robbery.

McNeice's attorney, Paul Mattern, appealed the sentence shortly after the trial to the Arizona Court of Appeals, which on Nov. 1, 2007, ruled against one of the murder convictions and both of the sentences.

In its decision the court wrote, "Because McNeice was found guilty as to murdering only one victim, his sentence should reflect one conviction for felony murder. McNeice was found guilty of two counts of felony murder with respect to one victim and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of statutory life imprisonment."

Varela said he is confident McNeice will receive another statutory life prison term for the remaining felony murder charge when he is resentenced.

"Obviously we are going to review the entire file and Court of Appeals' decision for any additional evidence or information, but at this time we aren't aware of anything that would result in McNeice receiving anything other then a statutory life sentence," Varela said.

A status hearing on McNeice's resentencing is has been set for Dec. 4 in Yuma County Superior Court before Gould, who presided over the first trial.

Mattern also contended in his appeal that the trial court erred in denying his client's motion to suppress evidence and that it abused its discretion in denying him notification about destruction of evidence. He also challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the conviction.

However, the Court of Appeals found the trial court acted appropriately.

Grumbine's partially nude body was found in the early morning hours of Feb. 14, 2002, inside Pop's Place, 940 S. 4th Ave., where she worked as a bartender.

Grumbine, 47, was killed by repeated blows to the head by several different bottles, and more than $300 in cash and checks were stolen from the bar. There was also evidence of an attempted rape.

She was killed shortly after she closed the bar at 1 a.m., according to police. Her body was found after police were contacted by a taxi driver, who had gone to the bar to give her a ride home.

Police said the bar was cluttered with broken glass. Blood spots were found in many locations, which indicated Grumbine had put up a fight for her life.

McNeice, who was homeless, was seen in the bar at 12:30 a.m. on the same morning of the murder, according to testimony in his trial. He had been living in his car at the time of his arrest.

As police continued their investigation into the murder, McNeice became an investigative lead in the case.

Officers eventually learned McNeice had been staying in an inoperable car, and after receiving a search warrant, found a check written to Pop's Place and two rolls of quarters.

At 8 a.m., on the day of the murder, McNeice was at a local bar, Sage and Sand, where he played pool and bought two rounds of drinks for the other patrons. He also gave a friend $20 to buy steaks for a proposed barbecue party.

Later, around 1 p.m., McNeice left Sage and Sand and went to Thunder Road, where he continued to drink beer and buy drinks for other patrons until he was arrested there two hours later.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.