Criminal Court Cases: The Taukitoku Case

As this was a case brought up by the state of Nevada, there were criminal charges that were filed against the defendant Taukitoku, those being three counts of murder with the use of a firearm as well as four counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The murder with the use of a firearm charges against Taukitoku were brought up for the killings of Charles Kelly, Derek Jensen, and Nathaniel Viljoen with a .380 Taurus semi-automatic handgun. The four counts of assault with a deadly weapon were for the killings of the three men and pointing the gun at Annetria Scott, another woman who was attending the party. Since Taukitoku’s trial took place in a criminal court, jury unanimity was required to uphold his guilt. Similarly, the state was required to prove that the evidence of Taukitoku’s crimes were beyond a reasonable doubt, i.e., a certainty of 98%, to be convicted.
Other Possible Charges
Looking through the case filings and brief, there were other criminal charges that could have also been brought up against the defendant during the night of the incident. The first other charge that could have been brought up against Taukitoku is trespassing. Nevada law states that trespassing is “going upon the land or into any building of another with intent to vex or annoy the owner or occupant thereof, or to commit any unlawful act; or willfully goes or remains upon any land or in any building after having been warned by the owner or occupant thereof not to trespass” (NRS 207.200). In this case the owners of the house told the defendants and his companions to leave the property which they then refused to do. Since Taukitoku was also carrying a firearm on him he could be charged with the more grave crime of armed