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Juror: State didn't prove case in murder trial
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Published: October 28, 2009
One of the jurors who found a man not guilty of first-degree murder Monday said the state didn't prove its case.
"We shouldn't have to fill in the blanks as jurors," said Allen Warren, who along with 11 others, decided Al Antonio Bellamy was not guilty of murdering Jimmy Matreece Walker in October 2004.
He said when the jury went back to deliberate Monday morning, approximately eight jurors were ready to vote not guilty.
"There were about four that had to be swayed," he said.
Warren said those in favor of not guilty posed one simple question to those ready to vote guilty.
"I kept saying, 'did the state prove it?' " he said.
Bellamy was facing life in prison without parole.
The state contended Bellamy murdered Walker in retaliation for Walker's involvement in the robbery and kidnapping of Bellamy's friend, Kenny Oakley, about 15 minutes earlier.
The defense argued that no evidence placed Bellamy at the scene other than the testimony of five people seeking breaks on prison time.
Warren called the five who testified that Bellamy admitted to the murder "thugs."
"There was no fingerprints, no murder weapon, just the word of these thugs," he said. "The state had nothing but four or five criminals. It's joke and I'm really upset."
Warren said the state did prove the robbery and kidnapping of Oakley, but that was not the focus of the case.
"They spent a lot of time on nonsense," he said.
Warren said he and others on the jury believed that one of Walker's co-conspirators on the robbery actually committed the murder.
That's a theory defense attorney Robert Trobich proposed in his closing argument, pointing to how one of them acted when he was approached about submitting a hair sample.
Testimony indicated one of the co-conspirators became nervous when he learned a hair had been found in Walker's hand.
That hair did not match Bellamy, an expert testified, but prosecutors pointed to testimony that indicated Bellamy committed the murder while wearing a woman's wig.
Warren said he believes Assistant District Attorney Jason Parker did the best job he could with the scant evidence provided.
But, he said, Trobich's closing argument was the deciding factor in his not guilty vote.
Warren said he was also impressed with Judge Joe Crosswhite and the bailiffs.
Warren said spending a couple of weeks as a juror opened his eyes and shook his faith in the criminal justice system.
Now, he's thinking about a career change to try to change that system.
Warren works in the furniture industry and has seen that decline in recent years.
"I'm actually thinking about becoming a cop," he said.
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