DADE CITY, Fla. — 9:14 p.m. Update:
After a little more than three hours of deliberations, the six-person jury found Curtis Reeves not guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. His acquittal on the charges comes eight years after he shot and killed Chad Oulson, which Reeves does not deny. Click here for the latest update.
5:38 p.m. Update:
The prosecution and defense both finished presenting their closing arguments. The main jurors received their instructions from Judge Susan Barthle and began deliberations.
The alternate jurors were identified and excused. The alternates were three women and one man.
2:30 p.m. Update:
“You don’t judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,” Defense Attorney Richard Escobar said as he started his closing arguments.
The defense is asking the jurors not to discount anything they have seen or heard. Throughout the prosecution’s arguments, Rosenwasser said certain aspects of the defense’s case didn’t matter, such as the botches made by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation. Escobar says the jury should consider all evidence and factors, including what the prosecution has presented.
“You must judge him by the circumstances by which he was surrounded by at the time,” Escobar explained to the jurors. He cites the problems Reeves has physically, as well as the experts that have testified to Reeves’ deterioration. The defense has pushed that Reeves is elderly and considered a vulnerable individual.
“The law of self-defense requires each and every one of us to stand in the shoes of Curtis Reeves, a 71-year-old man at the time of the incident,” Escobar said.
In going over the wording of the law, Escobar tells the jurors, “You shall find Curtis Reeves not guilty.” He reasons that by applying the law and hearing the evidence, justice will be carried out.
Escobar also took the time to highlight Reeves’ achievements as a police officer. The defense describes Reeves as well-trained, well-respected, and even started divisions with the Tampa Police Department like the fugitive squad. He also mentions that Reeves was raising two children, going to college and working as a police officer at the same time.
The defense adds that Reeves never once fired his gun in his 27 years as a police officer. Escobar says Reeves is not "trigger happy."
The defense also spent time going over the evidence and addressing the witnesses that were called.
10:30 a.m. Update:
The prosecution spent the morning delivering their closing arguments in an effort to prove Curtis Reeves did not kill Chad Oulson out of self-defense.
“A self-serving statement does not equal self-defense,” State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser said about Reeves’ testimony. Rosenwasser added that Reeves “likes the danger, likes the control.”
The prosecution pointed out that Reeves had a long career as a police officer, but the person who scared him the most was Chad Oulson, a husband and father.
“He’s not backed in a life or death struggle like he wants you to believe,” Rosenwasser explained.
In discussing witness testimonies, Rosenwasser describes testimony from Matthew Reeves and Jennifer Shaw, Reeves’ children, weren’t credible enough. Matthew had previously testified he heard his father tell Oulson to get off him, while Curtis says he said something completely different.
The prosecution described Reeves as trying to portray himself as a “fragile egg.” Rosenwasser discusses all the activities Reeves did, like hunting, biking and kayaking.
Rosenwasser also went over what the state has to prove to the jury and if his actions fall under the definition of second-degree murder. The prosecution tells the jury not to believe to defense’s argument that Reeves shot Oulson because Oulson’s hand was reaching for him. Rosenwasser says Reeves shot Oulson over popcorn and says they know that because Reeves was reported to say, “Throw popcorn at me,” after the shooting.
“He started it and he ended it,” Rosenwasser said.
The defense is up next to present their closing arguments, followed by jury deliberations.
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Closing arguments and jury deliberations are to begin Friday in the ongoing trial of movie theater shooter Curtis Reeves. The jurors in this case have spent nine days listening to experts and witnesses who were inside the movie theater at the time of the shooting.
On Thursday, we heard from who is probably the most important witness in this trial: Reeves himself. He spent the entire day on the stand, answering questions from the defense and prosecution.
During questioning from the prosecution, attorneys pointed out several discrepancies in statements he made Thursday versus what he originally told detectives on the day of the shooting.
At one point, the prosecution even asked Reeves if he was tailoring his testimony to what the video shows. Reeves said no.