Court to rule on appeal of man convicted in officer's death

PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling Thursday in an appeal by a man convicted in the 2007 shooting death of a Glendale police officer during a routine traffic stop.

A jury sentenced Bryan Wayne Hulsey to death for his murder conviction in Officer Anthony Holly's death.

The officer was killed after Hulsey exited a vehicle that had been pulled over for speeding and not having a license plate.

Hulsey was a passenger, while Holly was there to serve as backup to another officer who made the stop.

Defense attorneys argued Holly was unintentionally shot by the other officer because the bullet that killed Holly wasn't recovered during the autopsy, though tiny metal fragments remained in his body.

Medical examiners concluded the fragments didn't have forensic value.