More than a month after the defense for a teen convicted at trial for his role in the murder of 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller filed a motion seeking a new trial, a judge denied it, saying his attorneys had the opportunity to challenge it at trial.
Jurors unanimously found on May 4 that Thomas Stein, 18, of North Fort Myers, did not intend to kill Rincon-Miller, but that he carried and possessed a firearm March 17, 2024. They convicted him of one count of first-degree felony murder and three counts of attempted robbery with a firearm.
Friends and family of Stein sat in court for the hearing. Stein frequently looked back at the gallery as the door swung open.
The mother of Stein’s convicted accomplice, 18-year-old Christopher Horne, of Cape Coral, left the courtroom after Lee Circuit Judge Nicholas Thompson denied the motion and called a relative on her phone, which was placed on speaker. She continued to speak with their relative as the elevator moved to the ground floor.
Horne’s mother expressed how there was “no way” the judge would reverse Stein’s conviction. The Hornes have attended all of Stein’s hearing, including his trial, since the cases began moving through the court system.
Rincon-Miller’s mother was not present in court.
Stein’s trial attorneys, David Wheeler and Julian Montoya sat next to Stein, while Assistant State Attorneys Sara Miller and Alyssa Wolf sat across the aisle.
Defense challenges trial outcome
Wheeler on June 18 said the defense hoped to introduce evidence not presented at trial. Their emphasis was on a transcribed deposition of one of the two teens with Rincon-Miller during the shooting.
Miller said she had not seen the transcript Wheeler held in a piece of paper. She briefly examined it.
Wheeler argued that he attempted to call Wolf as a witness at trial to question her about the change in 19-year-old Emma Wright’s testimony. Wright was with Rincon-Miller and 18-year-old Louann Dejait, when Rincon-Miller was shot.
In his rebuttal argument, Wheeler said the transcript is evidence of “being ambushed” by the testimony change at trial. Wheeler has maintained that Wright for the first time at trial identified Stein as the shooter.
“It’s a very bold claim to make,” Miller said, later adding that she has been a prosecutor for 19 years and has “rarely called” an accomplice to testify.
Miller cited fears that the defense would turn the jury’s attention to the accomplice.
“This was an extremely circumstantial case from the beginning,” Miller said, adding that the state also contemplated whether to call Wright and the third attempted robbery victim, Dejait, as witnesses.
Miller explained in court that often victims’ recollections are impacted by their trauma.
“All we can argue is what we know that happened,” Miller said.
State reviewed trial testimony
In preparation for Stein’s appeal, Miller said she watched Wright’s testimony several times and did not find inconsistencies pointed out by the defense.
Miller said Wolf never asked Wright about Stein and said Wheeler questioned Wright in a “weird way.” The defense’s line of questioning, Miller argued, prompted Wright to identify Stein as the shooter.
The prosecutor further argued that the defense was not entitled to call Wolf, as an assistant prosecutor, as a witness.
“We believe there’s nothing that happened that would be grounds for a new trial,” Miller said.
Wheeler insisted that the state “had to be aware” of the change in Wright’s testimony.
Thompson denied the motion and said the defense had the opportunity to question Wright at trial.
Motion argued witness inconsistencies, insufficient evidence
In a May 11 motion, defense attorney Robert Malove argued there was insufficient evidence for his conviction on all four counts. Specifically, Malove argued, the state was required to “introduce sufficient evidence of Stein’s participation in the attempted robberies to sustain convictions” for all four counts.
“Even when viewed in a light most favorable to the State, the evidence fails to establish the elements of Stein’s participation in the underlying attempted robberies beyond a reasonable doubt,” the motion argued in part.
Malove argued that the state “introduced no evidence that Stein intended to commit a robbery and/or committed an overt act toward commission of the robbery that went beyond mere preparation.”
Further, Malove argued that one of the witnesses who was with Rincon-Miller when the shooting unfolded, 19-year-old Wright, provided a different version of events at trial, contradicting testimony she gave to the attorneys prior.
“He is accusing the state of lying and withholding information,” Miller said, later adding that “to introduce new evidence at a motion for new trial is improper.”
During her deposition with the attorneys, according to the motion, Wright said at least four people exited an SUV; that Rincon-Miller was already struggling with an assailant when the driver, Stein, ran over to them; that she did not see whether Stein was armed; and that she could not tell which person shot Rincon-Miller.
At trial, Wright testified that two or three people exited the SUV; that Stein ran over to Rincon-Miller with a firearm in hand attempting to steal her purse; and that Stein was the shooter.
Malove argued the state was aware of Wright’s renewed testimony and accused the state of failing to disclose it to the defense, saying the defense was “ambushed.”
Miller and Wolf argued they were unaware of the change in Wright’s testimony “and that its opening statement to the jury regarding the victim’s identification of Stein as Rincon-Miller’s shooter and killer “was merely a comment about what the circumstantial evidence of the case implied.”
Thompson denied that motion from the defense at trial.
Malove further argued that Miller and Wolf did not call convicted accomplice Christopher Horne Jr., 18, as a witness in its case despite having offered Horne the “plea deal of a lifetime” in exchange for his testimony against Stein. Horne accepted a 25-year prison deal, convicted of second-degree felony murder and three counts of attempted robbery, in exchange for his testimony against Stein.
Horne on May 19 was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he pleaded no contest to second-degree murder charges.
Stein’s motion stated that during closing arguments, the state told jurors that it was never its intention to call Horne as a witness because of “credibility concerns.”
According to Malove, the court further interfered with Stein’s constitutional rights when the defense attempted to call Wolf as a witness with the intent of explaining Wright’s change in testimony.
During a break, according to the new trial motion, Wolf admitted that, prior to her testimony, Wright told Wolf she did not know if Stein carried an object in his hand during the incident.
The defense intended to call Wolf as a witness “to impeach Wright’s testimony because of the inconsistent statements” Wright provided Wolf in prior interviews with her.
Thompson denied the defense’s request to call Wolf as a rebuttal witness, finding that the defense had “ample opportunity” to impeach Wright while she testified.
Malove further argued that the state introduced as evidence a firearm that was not used during the incident. At trial, the state introduced images of a firearm which matched the make, model and description of a gun owned by Thomas Stein’s mother, Jessica Stein.
“The State was further permitted to introduce images of the barrel of said unrelated firearm transposed over the bullet wound of the victim,” the motion read in part.
Two of them waved firearms and demanded the girls give them their bags, police said.
The testimony revealed only one gunshot was fired, but authorities never found a shell casing. The bullet exited Rincon-Miller’s body.
Thomas Stein faces sentencing on July 10.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Judge denies motion for new trial for Kayla Rincon-Miller’s killer
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez and Vanessa Norris, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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By Tomas Rodriguez and Vanessa Norris, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
