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For second time in a week, a jury in Erie County Court rejects DA's argument for first-degree murder and rules for self-defense. Defendant shot victim in hip and middle of back in latest case.
An acquittal has ended an Erie homicide trial that included evidence of "smack talk," the defendant's fear of dogs and the victim's history of violence.
A jury deliberated for about 3 hours and 20 minutes on Wednesday before announcing that they had found 36-year-old Jonathan Outlaw not guilty of all seven charges, including homicide and aggravated assault, in the death of Duane E. Buckner, 37, in Outlaw's apartment at West 24th and Liberty streets in Erie on the morning of Oct. 31, 2019.
Outlaw shot Buckner once each in the hip and back. Outlaw argued self-defense.
Erie police investigate a fatal shooting in an apartment at West 24th and Liberty streets the morning of Oct. 31, 2019. The case ended in an acquittal on Wednesday.
Testimony in Outlaw's trial started on Friday. After listening to police officers and other prosecution witnesses, the jury heard from Outlaw as the main defense witness.
The defense was that Outlaw feared for his life because Buckner was intoxicated and belligerent and brought his pit bull into the apartment despite what Outlaw said was his deep fear of dogs.
The defense presented evidence of Buckner's prior record, including an attempted homicide case in which he was accused of intentionally driving his car into another man in 2018 in Erie. The defense said Outlaw knew about Buckner's violent past and also feared him for that reason.
Evidence of "Mr. Buckner's propensity for prior bad acts" was a key to the defense, lawyer Gene Placidi, who represented Outlaw with lawyer Nicci Page, said after the verdict. He said Outlaw's knowledge of Buckner's past, combined with evidence about Buckner's intoxication and angry mood on Oct. 31, 2019, indicated that Outlaw knew he was in life-threatening danger.
The defense at trial pointed to evidence that Buckner's blood-alcohol content at his time of death was at least 0.114%, higher than the 0.08% legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania. Placidi at trial described Buckner as a weightlifter who was six and a half feet tall and 205 pounds and who was imposing next to Outlaw, who Placidi said is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds at the time of the shooting.
Placidi also credited Outlaw's testimony.
"Our client spoke from the heart," he said.
The killing put Outlaw in the Erie County Prison for about 16 months, or since the time of his arrest. He had been incarcerated with no bond set because the Erie County District Attorney's Office had sought a conviction for first-degree murder, a premeditated homicide. The courts generally deny bond in cases of first-degree murder.
Outlaw was to be released from prison later on Wednesday, Placidi said. Tears wetted Outlaw's face as he heard the verdict read at about 2:10 p.m. in the courtroom of Erie County Judge John J. Mead.
The acquittal was the second in a row for a defendant in Erie County Court who was accused of first-degree murder and argued self-defense. A jury a week ago found Delores C. White, 67, not guilty of all charges in the stabbing death of her daughter's boyfriend in April.
The defense in that case argued that White, who did not testify, feared for her life because the victim was violent. White had been held in prison since her arrest because the District Attorney's Office sought a conviction for first-degree murder.
Erie County First Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz, who prosecuted the Outlaw case, pressed for a conviction for first-degree murder. She argued in her opening statement that Outlaw made a "conscious, intentional, deliberate decision" to open fire on Buckner, who the prosecution said did not threaten Outlaw with a gun.
Hirz argued that Outlaw acted not out of concern for his safety but out of anger over comments that Buckner made to him before Outlaw shot him at about 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 31. She said Buckner was bullying Outlaw by talking "extra smack," including ridiculing him for not being able to pay his electric bill, forcing him to live in a dark apartment.
Before the killing, Hirz said, Outlaw, Buckner and Outlaw's best friend, who is Buckner's cousin, had discussed smoking marijuana while at the apartment. She told the jury that all three men were friends, with "no bad blood" between them. She said the dog that Outlaw said he feared was old and in no way vicious.
After the shooting, police found Outlaw hiding behind a tarp in crawl space in the basement. Officers found the 9 mm pistol he used in the shooting hidden behind siding leaning against a wall near the water heater and found the gun's magazine hidden in duct work. Police also found hidden, in the basement, a small bag of marijuana and a digital scale, according to testimony.
Hirz highlighted Outlaw's attempt to hide to argue that he intended to kill Buckner and did not act in self-defense. Outlaw, according to testimony, initially told police that he shot Buckner in self-defense because "he was breaking in," though no one presented evidence of a burglary, and that Outlaw told police "I know my rights. I know the law." Hirz also recounted to the jury that Outlaw also initially told police that he fired at Buckner as Buckner "was trying to run out of the house."
Hirz after the verdict said she was disappointed in the jury's decision but respected it.
She said the District Attorney's Office continues to believe that Outlaw's killing of Buckner "was not reasonable under the circumstances."
Placidi, one of Outlaw's lawyers, argued in his opening statement that Outlaw shot Buckner after Buckner made threatening comments, including that Outlaw was going to end up like his "dead brother," referencing 21-year-old Eddie Outlaw, who was killed in a 1999 shooting that Placidi said Jonathan Outlaw witnessed.
He said Outlaw suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his brother's death, and that the mental illness contributed to him believing he was in danger when he pulled his legally possessed pistol on Buckner.
"There is no question that it is tragic that Mr. Buckner is deceased," Placidi told the jury at trial. "No one feels as bad about that as Jonathan. But the evidence will show that when Jonathan fired the gun, he was acting in self-defense."