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A Mill Hall man was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime, but the jury deadlocked on a charge of attempted homicide.
Nigel Lee, 39, was charged in the Feb. 4 shooting of Adam Butler at the residence of his friend, Mark Baskin, 64, at 94 Vilas Drive in Porter Township.
During closing arguments Wednesday morning, defense attorney Jeanna Longo reiterated her opening remarks, arguing that Lee had done what he needed to do to protect himself.
"He wasn't trying to kill him, he just wanted to get away. He didn't even know if he had shot Adam," she told the jury.
Summarizing testimony given Tuesday by Lee, Longo stated that Lee was only present to visit his friend, Lindsey Straub, when Butler arrived with a case of beer and proceeded to torment him throughout the night.
Butler was described as "acting weird" by Lee, according to Longo, including referring to Lee as a "scumbag," and calling himself and Baskin the "superior race."
Butler's aggressive behavior escalated, Longo said, when Baskin showed off his weapon collection at which point, Butler allegedly asked about throwing a throwing star at Lee "just to see what would happen," while stating that Lee "would not last four seconds" in a fight with him.
Lee also testified that Butler had brought a chainsaw into the house to show a friend, relating to him that it could cut through Lee's bones without ever jamming, Longo said.
As tensions rose, Baskin intervened with Butler replying that if Lee had a problem with him, they could "go outside like men," further threatening Lee by saying "(expletive) him, I have a gun in the truck," Longo said.
During a phone call between Lee and his father just prior to the shooting as a way of diffusing the tension, Butler allegedly asked Lee if he was speaking to the police, before relating words to the effect of "it won't matter anyway. I know them. I'll (expletive) you up before they get here," according to Longo.
Rather than an act of aggression, Longo argued that the evidence clearly showed Lee was justified in his actions, and was only seeking to remove himself from a threatening situation.
In particular, Longo cited the testimony of John Carson, a neighbor and former friend of Baskin and Butler who testified for the prosecution under subpoena, that after hearing shots, he witnessed a Black male in a "retreating pose," which he identified as such from his military service as combat infantryman.
Longo also pointed to the positions of the bullet casings, stating that they displayed a clear pattern of Lee backing away from the victim.
Longo also stressed that there were several witnesses the jury did not hear from who were present the night before when the alleged harassment of Lee took place, including Lindsey Straub and Jenny Lehman.
"Justice does not always mean guilty," Longo said, ending her case to the jury.
During closing arguments for the state, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Welickovitch argued that the scene law enforcement encountered on Feb. 4 "strongly suggested an unprovoked, unwarranted attack."
No threats or racist attacks had occurred to provoke the shooting, according to testimony provided by Baskin and Butler, Welickovitch said.
Calling the jurors "finders of fact," Welickovitch told the jury they had two jobs, to "follow the facts where they lead" and "infer intent from actions."
Welickovitch echoed Longo's call for the jury to use common sense in making their decision.
Lee's actions after the shooting, Welickovitch said, constituted a "consciousness of guilt."
Lee made no attempt to contact police after extricating himself from the situation and had discarded several items, including the gun used in the shooting, into a storm drain, Welickovitch said.
"I can't put myself into the mind of Nigel Lee, but you have to ask yourself, would an innocent person do these things?" he asked.
Citing the bullet that passed through Butler's palm, Lee "aimed the gun towards the area most likely to cause death," Welickovitch told the jury, stressing that for the bullet to take that path would have put the bullets on a course to hit Butler in the upper body, endangering his vital organs.
Welickovitch directly challenged Longo's assertion that Lee was justified in his shooting of Butler, stating that he had many choices available to him, and that the choices he made showed clear intent to kill Butler.
If he wished to escape an escalating situation, Lee had several routes away from the house available to him, Welickovitch told the jury, adding that Lee could not have felt an imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury due to his distance from Butler, and the relatively small size of the object Butler allegedly threatened Lee with.
"Looking at the evidence step by step... (the evidence) clearly shows Lee had the intent to kill Adam Butler and should be found guilty of all counts," Welickovitch said.
After the verdict was handed down, Judge Ryan Tira thanked the jury for fulfilling their civic duty.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 6.