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LightningBoy
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Joined: 09 Mar 2003
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Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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 Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:24 pm Guilt verdict in the Sgt. Gerald Vick murder trial. |
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| Quote: | Jury Finds Evans Guilty Of Vick's Murder
(WCCO) St. Paul A jury has found Harry Evans guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting of Sgt. Gerald Vick.
Lawyers gave their closing arguments Thursday morning. Prosecutors insisted defendant Evans, 33, fired the shots that killed Vick, while the defense argued otherwise.
Vick was shot and killed on the morning of May 6 while working undercover at Erick's Bar in St. Paul. Vick was working on a prostitution investigation with his partner, Sgt. Joe Strong, when the two had a run-in with Evans and his cousin Antonio Kelly.
Six men and six women comprised the jury. They finished deliberating around noon Friday.
Defense attorneys argued Kelly shot Vick, not Evans. Forensics experts testified that gunshot residue was found on Kelly's hands, but was not found on Evans' hands.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence directly linked Evans to the murder weapon. Forensics experts testified Evans' DNA was found on the gun, but defense attorneys contended there was not enough DNA found to determine an accurate result.
Kelly took the stand last week, telling jurors Evans said, "I think I got one of them," after Vick was shot.
Defense attorneys questioned Kelly's reliability by pointing out his prior statements to police. Kelly had told police, "I didn't do nothing" the night of the shooting. "I was trying to grab me some butt."
An attorney for the defense asked, "That was a lie?" Kelly said, "Yes."
Defense attorneys also asked Kelly, "Given the gunshot residue on your fingers, your prior felony convictions and your repeated lying, wouldn't you agree that there is a reasonable doubt as to who shot Sgt. Vick?"
"No, ma'am," Kelly replied.
Prosecutors asked Kelly if he had asked for immunity in exchange for his testimony, and he replied, "No, ma'am."
"Why not?" the prosecutor asked.
"I didn't need it," Kelly replied. "I'm telling the truth."
Sgt. Joe Strong, Vick's partner, also testified Evans -- not Kelly -- shot Vick.
During the testimony, a defense attorney asked Strong, "As he (Vick) was falling down, did you see Harry Evans?"
"No," Strong replied.
"At that point, did you know where he (Evans) was?" the attorney asked.
"I don't know where he was," Strong replied.
"He was not inches to Sgt. Vick?" the attorney asked.
"He was not two to three inches away from Sgt. Vick," Strong said.
The defense placed a lot of emphasis on these questions after the Ramsey County Medical Examiner testified Vick was shot at very close range.
Defense attorneys also asked Strong why he and Vick went to three bars that night, when police incident calls in the past showed nothing specifically stating problems with prostitution.
Attorneys for the defense also asked Strong why he and Vick went to three bars that night and why they were drinking. Strong told jurors drinking is part of being an undercover officer and that you have to drink to fit in.
Defense attorneys argued Vick was legally drunk when he was shot and believed he and Strong were socializing with two women, not investigating prostitution, at Erick's Bar the night of the shooting.
In closing arguments, Gaertner addressed the fact that Vick was legally drunk when he was shot.
She said, "People go to work not at 100 percent for all sorts of reasons. At a .20 blood alcohol level, Sgt. Vick was walking, and very shortly before he died he was being a cop, and a very good one."
Gaertner also said the two women the officers met at the bar were of interest to the vice cops, because it is their job to investigate, but that is not the issue in this case.
"The fact that Sgts. Vick and Strong got it wrong doesn't matter," Gaertner argued. "The shooting happened outside Erick's Bar because it was a quality of life issue." |
My dad was one of the jurors on this trial; glad to see they delivered justice. Such a sad case. Sgt. Vick was the most highly decorated officer in St. Paul history; and simply a great man.
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