Man Acquitted of Murder in 90 Minutes
Posted on Nov 15, 2010 4:35pm PST
As reported by the Lake County Record Bee, a man on trial for the brutal murder of his roommate and friend, was found not guilty after a jury's 90-minute deliberation.
Standing just outside of the Lake County Jail, John Robert Gray, 44, told friends and family that he was "in shock" at the quick decision made by the 12-person jury made up of Lake County residents, as its been a "long 20 months."
Gray had faced a charge of murder in the death of his roommate, Eric Joaquin.
On February 28, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Joaquin was found murdered on the floor of his bedroom in the Clear Lake Riviera home owned by Gray. Gray was taken into custody on the same day, and was held in Lake County Jail.
His trial began in October 13.
When it was time for the jury to make a decision, legal instructions were given by judge Arthur H. Mann. The jury's deliberations began at approximately 9:40 a.m. and ended with the reading of the verdict a little after 11:25 a.m.
The attorney for the Lake County DA's office was Art Grothe and Gray was represented by Pleasanton attorney Kevin Ikuma.
Ikuma said that the verdict "renews my faith in the people of Lake County. It was such a long road. It's amazing that it's finally here. It finally happened."
Gray - maintaining that he was innocent throughout the ordeal - felt that it might have been Ikuma's two-hour closing arguments made to the jury that made all of the difference. In that presentation Ikuma showed more than 100 slides under the title, "John Gray is an innocent man."
The prosecution had shown almost 300 photographs of its own, all relating to the crime scene - the bedroom, the body and the autopsy - in its eight days of testimony.
It was alleged by authorities that Joaquin was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat by Gray. They also alleged that Gray's actions were influenced by his use of methamphetamine.
Grothe's written statement regarding the jury's decision was, "The verdict is not what we were hoping for based on our assessment of the case. However that is the process, and we respect the jury's decision."
Gray felt that the jury's decision left Eric Joaquin's murder unresolved and said that, "Eric was my good friend. I want the person responsible caught."
There were "at least 44 injuries" sustained in Joaquin's body - per the forensic pathologist that performed the autopsy on October 21 - four skull fractures, 16 broken ribs and lacerated lungs.
Gray's girlfriend, Barbara Wallace, expressed that she was "just glad he's coming home", his mother, Leilani Gray, was greatly relieved, and Gray stated for himself that he was looking forward to returning to work. Other friends and family, about 15 in all, shouted, jumped and cried when they heard the not guilty verdict.
Worried about your defense for a criminal charge? Click here to contact a criminal defense lawyer in our directory that specializes in criminal defense today!
