Jury acquits 2017 murder suspect of all 9 counts

2021-12-29 13:45:24 By : Mr. Emma Jia

A jury found a Grady man not guilty of nine counts including capital murder in the Nov. 8, 2017, shooting death of Willie Oglesby Jr.

It took a 12-person panel hearing the case in Judge Alex Guynn’s 11th West Circuit Division 1 courtroom less than 12 hours Monday to clear Deondrick Clark, now 23, of one count of capital murder, seven counts of terroristic act and one count of theft by receiving. Clark was accused of shooting Oglesby, 28, of Pine Bluff in the area of West 29th Avenue and South Cedar Street.

Clark had faced 10 to 40 years or life in prison for each Class Y felony (capital murder and two terroristic act charges of causing death), five to 20 years for each Class B felony (the other five terroristic act charges) and up to six years and a $10,000 fine for the Class D theft by receiving charge, with the possibility of an enhanced sentence for firearms by certain persons on each charge.

“We’re gratified,” defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock said. “The jury listened. I think what it is, I believe, was the flaws and defects in that particular discipline of forensic science. No one did a positive identification. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Jefferson County ought to be proud of a jury that takes the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt seriously.”

Rosenzweig successfully argued the reliability of a finding from an Arkansas State Crime Lab technician on the basis of a 2009 National Academy of Sciences report that disputed such due to a lack of standards. Jennifer Floyd said eight shell casings found at or near the crime scene were all fired from the same firearm, but also testified she could not determine that a shell casing to a .40-caliber bullet from Oglesby’s body and a similar casing collected from the crime scene were fired from the same gun.

When cross-examined by Rosenzweig, Floyd said the findings are not statistically verified.

“There’s no dispute someone killed Mr. Oglesby,” Rosenzweig said in opening statements.

Jefferson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Will Jones and Jill Reed tried the case for the state of Arkansas.

“We’re certainly disappointed, but we’re not going to let this keep us from getting justice for families who are hurting for victims of gun violence,” Jones said. “All the evidence pointed toward Mr. Clark. I just hate it for [Oglesby’s mother] and her family.”

Clark was 20 when he was arrested on suspicion of killing Oglesby before 1 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2017. According to plaintiff testimony, a light gray Dodge Charger allegedly driven by Clark pulled to the left side of a darker gray Charger driven by Oglesby when the latter suffered two gunshot wounds in the back. Prosecutors showed photos of Oglesby slumped across the center console from his driver’s seat.

Cameron Brooks, a prosecution witness, said he was riding in the seat behind Oglesby and was headed to a residence on West 29th — Brooks added he didn’t know exactly where — to deliver McDonald’s food to a friend of Oglesby’s while riding around with Oglesby and another passenger, whom Brooks identified as a cousin.

When Jones asked about the details of the shooting, Brooks answered: “I ain’t never seen nothing. When the shooting started, I got down. I reached down as far as I could. And then, I heard Willie say, ‘Aw, bro, I’m hit.’ That’s when I knew he was hit.”

Brooks then said he ran out of the vehicle and back in through the driver’s side door to stop the car from rolling. He ran back out of the car in the opposite direction and shouted for help, he added.

Photos revealed Oglesby’s vehicle sustained bullet holes in the driver’s seat window and side mirror and both the driver’s side rear window and rear windshield shattered. The vehicle was located at 1707 W. 29th Ave. with shell casings found at the 1500 block of the street, according to plaintiff testimony.

Pine Bluff Police Detective Jason Boykin, a patrolman on duty on Nov. 8, 2017, testified he noticed the vehicle driven by Clark heading east on Harding Avenue and pulled it over at the Produce Shed on U.S. 65 East. Boykin said he smelled marijuana, noticed a magazine to a gun and a passenger window rolled all the way down, but upon being questioned by Rosenzweig, said he didn’t find marijuana or a gun.

Detective Steven Rucker testified when Clark’s vehicle was examined at the police department’s crime scene bank, two shell casings to a .40-caliber bullet were found in the lower left window and back left corner of the trunk opening. A magazine with five live rounds to a .40-caliber gun was found, along with cash.

Rucker said a gun was found in the Grider Field Road area west of the Produce Shed on U.S. 65, along with six shell casings in the street. When Rosenzweig questioned Rucker about a possible gunshot residue test, the detective said none was administered once Clark asked for a lawyer.

Both Boykin and Rucker identified Clark as the suspect in court. Jones said no one else has been named.

“The evidence doesn’t point to anybody else,” Jones said. “There was nothing that suggested anyone else was involved. The police looked at every avenue and didn’t find where else the gunshots could have come from.”

Copyright © 2021, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2021, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. All rights reserved.