Court upholds conviction in fatal Little Rock mall shooting

Deonte Edison.
Deonte Edison.

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas' highest court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of a Little Rock man in the 2013 killing of a restaurant manager during a robbery at a mall.

The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the capital murder, attempted capital murder and aggravated robbery convictions of Deonte Edison. Edison was sentenced to life without parole plus 10 years.

Edison was convicted in the February 2013 shooting death of 25-year-old manager Christian Hayes and the wounding of another employee inside the now-closed Sbarro restaurant in Park Plaza in Little Rock. Edison worked at the restaurant at the time of the killing.

Edison argued, in part, that a lower court should have allowed him to ask about the other employee's potential civil lawsuit against him, as well as cross-examine about her medical records.

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