Thomas Stein seeks new trial months after murder conviction; judge to hear arguments Thursday

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — A judge is set to hear arguments Thursday on whether Thomas Stein should receive a new trial after being convicted earlier this year of first-degree felony murder and three counts of attempted robbery with a firearm.

Stein was found guilty in May and is currently scheduled to be sentenced in July. Before that sentencing can move forward, his attorneys are asking the court to throw out the verdict and order a new trial.

In a motion filed May 11, Stein's defense team argues multiple errors occurred during the trial, but the centerpiece of the request involves what attorneys describe as a discovery violation tied to eyewitness testimony.

According to the motion, witness Emma Wright consistently told law enforcement, investigators and testified during depositions that she could not identify who fired the fatal shot, could not determine whether the driver was armed and could not say who shot the victim.

The defense argues Wright's testimony changed significantly when she took the stand during trial. Attorneys claim Wright testified that Stein approached the victim with a firearm, attempted to steal her purse and identified Stein as the person who fired the fatal shot.

Stein's attorneys argue prosecutors knew about the change before trial but failed to disclose it to the defense.

"The defense was ambushed by the undisclosed change in Wright's testimony," attorneys wrote in the motion.

The filing argues the alleged change in testimony also altered the prosecution's trial strategy. 

The defense argues prosecutors initially secured a plea agreement with co-defendant Christopher Horne Jr. and expected him to be a key witness, but ultimately did not rely on him in their presentation of the case, which the defense says reflected a shift in trial strategy.

According to the motion, the defense had prepared for Horne to be a key witness and built part of its trial strategy around challenging his credibility.

In addition to the alleged discovery violation, Stein's attorneys argue:

• The evidence presented at trial was legally insufficient to support the convictions.
• The court improperly prevented the defense from calling Assistant State Attorney Alyssa Wolf as a witness to challenge Wright's testimony.
• Jurors were shown images of a firearm that was not the murder weapon.
• Several objections raised during trial should be reconsidered.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that the trial was conducted fairly and that the jury's verdict should remain in place.

To obtain a new trial, Stein's attorneys must convince the judge that a significant legal error occurred and that the error was prejudicial, meaning it may have affected the outcome of the trial.

The judge could deny the motion, grant a new trial or take the matter under advisement and issue a ruling at a later date.

If a new trial is granted, Stein's conviction would be vacated and prosecutors would then decide whether to retry the case.

This is a developing story and will be updated following Thursday's hearing.