Jurors acquit 2 of first-degree murder, convict pair of second-degree murder
Jurors acquitted two men of first-degree murder but convicted the pair of second-degree murder Monday in a gang trial that lasted two months and took jurors roughly two weeks to deliberate.
Kenton McDaniel and Tymere Ross were also each acquitted of two charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted robbery and attempted burglary. Both were found guilty of participating in a street gang.
Prosecutors said
McDaniel, Ross, Tinamarie Hawthorne and a 16-year-old boy went to
Hardeep Singh’s apartment at Cambridge Village Apartments the day after Thanksgiving in 2017 because Singh requested Hawthorne’s prostitution services.
Police said the four sought to rob Singh while Hawthorne distracted him. But Singh was shot in the face during a confrontation when all four arrived to meet him.
Defense attorney Monica Bermudez strongly disagreed with police and prosecutors’ assertions. She said Hawthorne repeatedly denied any robbery plans during an interview with police. Singh also had his valuables on him, showing stealing his items was never intended, she added during closing arguments.
A phone charger at the scene had McDaniel’s DNA profile on it. The murder weapon didn’t have McDaniel’s DNA, but did have a DNA profile from the 16-year-old boy, according to defense attorney Elliott Magnus.
Hawthrone struck a plea deal with prosecutor John Allen to testify in exchange for the dismissal of murder, conspiracy and participating in a street gang charges. She pleaded no contest to being an accessory last month and was sentenced to probation for two years.
It is unclear what charges, if any, the 16-year-old boy faced.