A convicted murderer’s latest request for a new trial over the 1992 shooting of a Lancaster man was denied by a state appellate court.
James M. Pridgen was convicted of first-degree murder in 1993 and sentenced to life in prison for the killing of Colin Koulesser a year earlier at a city apartment.
Pridgen, now 54, has filed for relief several times, claiming his trial conviction was improper and his sentence illegal.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied his most recent request on Wednesday, finding that previous denials of appeal were without error, so his latest filing is too late.
On Nov. 8, 1992, at an apartment in the 600 block of East End Avenue, Pridgen was involved in an argument, with a woman, over his drug-dealing activity. He pulled a handgun and fired. The woman moved and avoided the shot; Koulesser, standing behind her, was wounded in the head.
Koulesser died the next day.
Lancaster city police filed charges.
Assistant District Attorney Ande Gonzalez handled the appeal for the Commonwealth.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright
