Snider convicted of murder

RBC I A jury of nine women and three men convicted Jerry D. Snider, Jr., 31, of the hatchet murder of his father, Jerry D. Snider, Sr. on June 14, 2011. The murder took place on July 2, 2009, in the Rangely home of Snider, Sr.
With his father reposed in a recliner chair, the defendant bludgeoned him with the sharp blade of a hatchet, striking his father in the head nine times. Five of the wounds penetrated the skull and went into the brain of the victim. Upon killing his father with the hatchet, Snider, Jr. took his father’s wallet, credit cards and the keys to his father’s truck. As a result, Snider, Jr. was also convicted of aggravated robbery, a class three felony. Aggravated robbery is both a crime of violence and an extraordinary risk crime.
Snider, Jr. had a history of prolonged and heavy drug and alcohol abuse dating back to the age of 15. His history included extensive abuse of alcohol and methamphetamines. It also included abuse of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, LSD, GHB, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and a variety of prescription pills. Two days prior to the murder he finished off a 7-10 day alcohol drinking binge.
Experts at trial testified that, at the time of the murder, Snider, Jr. was in the throes of alcohol withdrawal symptoms which, according to those experts, peak on the second day after cessation of alcohol intake. Snider, Jr. relied on the defense of insanity. The jury, however, did not buy it.
After the verdict was read, District Attorney Martin Beeson said he was very pleased with the verdict. “The jury took its job seriously and did the right thing. That’s all we as prosecutors and representatives of the people can ever ask.”
The trial was the culmination of a case which initially ended in a hung jury (11-1 for conviction) in Meeker earlier this year. The second trial was moved to Glenwood Springs by order of the court. Sentencing in the case is set for Nov. 9, 2011. Snider, Jr., a two-time convicted felon prior to the murder of his father, faces a potential sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole, plus 48 years.