After an emotional day in trial, John Henry Spooner, the man who shot and killed Darius Simmons in May 2012, was convicted in the 13-year-old’s death.
A jury will now decide if Spooner, who believed the teen was stealing weapons from his Milwaukee home, was mentally ill at the time.
On Wednesday, the jurors deliberated for an hour before finding Spooner guilty of first-degree intentional homicide. Earlier, they watched a surveillance video of Spooner approaching Simmons, pointing a gun at his chest, and shooting him to death.
According to the Huffington Post:
Spooner’s surveillance video provides a clear view of what happened. Spooner emerges from his house and confronts the teen, who is retrieving his family’s garbage cart from the street. Spooner points a gun at Darius, who moves back a few steps. Spooner then exchanges words with Darius’ mother, who’s standing on her porch out of view of the camera, and Spooner briefly points the gun in her direction. Moments later, Spooner points the gun back at the boy standing a couple of feet in front of him. He fires, hitting Darius in the chest.
The teen stumbles and runs away, and Spooner fires a second shot that misses. He appears to attempt a third shot, but the gun jams.
To watch the graphic video, see below:
Yesterday Darius’ mother, Patricia Larry, gave a tearful account of watching her son die in front of their home.
“I pulled his shirt up and I (saw) he had a bullet hole in his chest,” she said tearfully. “He took one more breath and that’s it.”
During closing arguments, Spooner’s defense argued that he didn’t mean to fire the fatal shot.
But prosecutor Mark Williams pointed out that Spooner confronted Darius, aimed deliberately and pulled the trigger.
“How is that not intent to kill?” he asked. “You can see the intent. Look at him (Darius) holding his chest. Look how close they are together. It’s point-blank range. Darius runs away and he shoots again.”
Larry’s attorney says the family is pleased with the verdict. And so are we. Justice has finally been served.
SOURCE: Huffington Post
