COMANCHE COUNTY, Okla_ A Comanche County jury has issued the verdict in the trial of a Lawton man being tried for shooting a former friend after an ongoing feud escalated to violence.
After half an
hour of deliberation, the jury found Justin
Keith not guilty on one count of Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon, not
guilty on two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and guilty of Reckless
Use of a Firearm.
For the guilty verdict on the one count of
Reckless Use of a Firearm, Keith received a sentence of Time Served
Justin Keith took the stand today in his own defense. He admitted to jurors that he shot Benjamin Meads during a fight last February, but he said he feared for his life. Prosecutors say Keith put Meads life and the lives of two others in danger, including Meads' 4-year-old son. They said they were with Meads during the fight.
Most of the testimony in this case was emotional and heated. Keith appeared to be calm during questioning and maintained his story of self-defense. The prosecution challenged him on what they say are several inconsistencies in his story.
As Keith answered questions that could very well impact the verdict, he appeared cool and almost cavalier under pressure. He told jurors that Benjamin Meads called him that morning of the shooting, accusing him and Meads' former girlfriend of using his stolen debit card. He said Meads told him "This may cost you your life." He said he then went to a friend's house to borrow a gun, because he feared for his life.
He said when Meads showed up to his aunt's house on southwest H Avenue, Meads charged him and punched him seven times. He said he didn't know at the time that Ben's mother Tina, had stabbed Ben during the fight. So, when Ben retreated to the truck with his arm behind his back, he thought he had a gun and started shooting.
The prosecution asked why Keith didn't produce the friend who owned the gun. They claim it was Keith's gun. They asked Keith why he didn't notice that Benjamin was bleeding profusely from his side after the stabbing. They said it was clear that Meads was wounded, and Keith kept shooting, putting the lives of two others in danger.
One of the bullets went through the cab of the truck. Meads testified that he yelled for Keith to stop shooting because his son and ex-girlfriend were in the truck. Keith testified he never heard that, never saw the boy, and didn't realize that the woman was in the car until after they took off. As the car drove away Meads was clinging to the hood of the truck, shot through the chest and stabbed in the side.
A lot of the defense's case rested on the fact that Meads had a reputation as a violent man, and Keith acted in self-defense. Some of the evidence that supported that was contradicted today.
Tina Meads testified that Ben had put her in the hospital's ICU a month before the shooting. When her medical records were produced for that stay, they showed that she told hospital staff that she had been injured in a bicycle accident, and drugs were found in her system. However, Meads did testify that he had physically abused his mother before.
Both the prosecution and defense told jurors that most of the witnesses in this case had questionable pasts.
