The Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A state appeals court Thursday upheld a conviction against a man involved in a plot to kill a Milwaukee police officer.
Edward Leon Jackson, 26, was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to commit intentional homicide, along with one count of possession of a fire bomb.
Jackson, who was 18 at the time of his 1996 arrest for his role in a plan to fire bomb the police officer’s home, contended he could not be charged with two counts of conspiracy under the same statute. A jury found him guilty in 1997.
The 1st District Court of Appeals, which upheld the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, rejected Jackson’s argument. The appeals court said state law clearly permits multiple punishments for defendants who agree to commit multiple crimes.
Jackson and two other men conspired to fire bomb the house so two others could shoot people fleeing from the building. The appeals court said although Jackson was part of one conspiracy, he conspired to participate in two acts, arson and intentional homicide.
The men who were charged were all arrested at the same time in a car with three guns and three Molotov cocktails, police said.