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Kerrick Trial - Day 23 - August 20

What to know:

  • Randall "Wes" Kerrick is accused of shooting and killing unarmed Jonathan Ferrell in September 2013.
  • Kerrick faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted.
  • Rallies planned in Charlotte as jurors deliberate.

KERRICK TRIAL ARCHIVE

Randall "Wes" Kerrick is accused of shooting and killing unarmed Jonathan Ferrell on Sept. 14, 2013. The jury is in the third day of deliberations over the case.

The 12 jurors deciding the fate of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Randall “Wes” Kerrick asked the judge Thursday to see more exhibits.

They asked for five exhibits including pictures of the cut on Kerrick’s cheek and they wanted to know if Jonathan Ferrell was right or left-handed.

Their requests for more information Thursday indicated they’re still haggling over the facts of the case, legal expert James Wyatt said.

“They’re asking for very detailed evidence, whether it comes from the crime scene, the map, to whether Mr. Ferrell is right or left-handed,” Wyatt said.

It’s reasonable to start wondering if they’ll be able to come to a unanimous verdict at all and that it only takes just one juror to derail a verdict, he said.

5:32 p.m. update: Channel 9 crunched the numbers and found out it is extremely expensive to put on a trial of the magnitude.

It is the 24th day of the trial of Randall Wes Kerrick and when you're adding up the cost to try this case, you have to consider paying the jury, expert witnesses as well as operating costs for the courthouse.

Here's how the numbers break down:

Criminal superior court is the most expensive to operate -- that costs about $6,200 a day. That includes all personnel and operating costs. That amount does not include paying the jury.

Channel 9 added it up and so far the 16 members of the jury have been paid nearly $13,000 through Thursday, which brings the total so far for the trial to more than $160,000.

4:55 p.m. update: Jury sent home for Thursday night. Day four of deliberations to start at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

https://twitter.com/jimbradleyWSOC9/status/634468542210011137

4:20 p.m. update: For the third day, Officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick and his family settled in to wait for an answer from the jury.

Across the courtroom, the mother of Jonathan Ferrell managed a smile as she sat close to the jury box that was empty while the 12 people, who will decide this case, asked for more evidence.

Judge Robert Ervin read five things that the jury wanted to see  or have answered including: Pictures of the cut on Kerrick's cheek where he says Ferrell punched him and the transcript of Lt. Eric Brady's testimony.

He's the supervisor who told Kerrick he should have pulled his gun after another officer pulled his Taser in a similar confrontation a year earlier.

They also wanted to know if Ferrell was right handed or left handed.

After discussions with the attorneys, Ervin told the jury they'd have to decide that question for themselves and several other things they asked for weren't actually in evidence.

“With those comments in mind we'll send you back to the jury room,” Ervin said.

He did send the pictures they asked for, a diagram of the patrol cars at the scene and instructions to keep working on reaching a verdict.

11:30 a.m. update: The jury requested five more pieces of evidence Thursday-- three of which the judge denied.

The jury asked to see a diagram of the crime scene, pictures of officer Kerrick's injuries and asked if Jonathan Ferrell was right or left handed. They also asked for Kerrick's CMPD application essay and a transcript of Lt. Eric Brady’s testimony.

Brady is the CMPD supervisor who reprimanded Kerrick a year before the fatal shooting, because he did not draw his gun in a similar but unrelated incident.

The judge told the jury that he couldn’t answer whether Ferrell was right or left handed.

Kerrick's essay was never submitted as evidence and the judge also denied the jury's request to get a copy of Lt. Eric Brady’s testimony.

The jury will continue to deliberate with the evidence they were granted.

6:11 a.m. update: A third day of deliberations is scheduled in the trial of a white Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer accused in the shooting death of an unarmed black man nearly two years ago.

The racially diverse jury of eight women and four men is scheduled to return Thursday at 9:30 a.m. to start its second full day of deliberations in the trial of Officer Randall Kerrick. The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon.

Kerrick is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Jonathan Ferrell in 2013.

Channel 9 will send a breaking news alert once a verdict is reached in the trial -- sign up to receive them on your device here.

WSOC will have team coverage from the courthouse throughout the morning and will live stream the verdict as it is announced.

Jurors asked Judge Richard C. Ervin on Wednesday to provide them with eight items, including the video and still pictures from the dashboard camera, pictures of where the cruisers were positioned when Ferrell was shot, CMPD’s use of force directives and the department’s policies and procedures, the basic law enforcement training manual and the police interview videos of officers Kerrick, Neal and Little.

The fact that the jurors requested to see so much evidence again shows they are being thoughtful and not coming to a hasty verdict.

It took about an hour for the defense attorneys and prosecutors to decide what evidence they wanted to give to the jury and how the jury would view the videos.

https://twitter.com/AngelaWSOC9/status/634298394194890753

Legal experts said the fact that they wanted to see all of this material again may mean there are disagreements among the jurors about what they saw and heard during testimony.

“It says the jury is being very meticulous and careful in trying to determine what the facts were that will lead them to a decision,” said James Wyatt.

The jury has deliberated for about 10 hours so far.

Kerrick case background

Randall "Wes" Kerrick is accused of shooting and killing unarmed Jonathan Ferrell on Sept. 14, 2013.

Three officers were called to the 7500 block of Reedy Creek Road in east Mecklenburg County around 2:30 that morning. A woman told police Ferrell was banging on her front door.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Ferrell ran toward the officers when they arrived. One of the officers deployed his Taser, but it was unsuccessful. Kerrick fired his weapon 12 times at close range. Ten of the shots hit Ferrell, killing him.

Police later discovered a wrecked car that Ferrell was driving about 500 yards away. Officers say Ferrell was unarmed.

Around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 14, 2013, Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, marking the first time an officer in Charlotte had been charged with manslaughter for actions on duty.

Kerrick was released from jail on a $50,000 bond. He remains suspended without pay from CMPD.

Ferrell, a former football player at Florida A&M University, was living in Charlotte with his fiancée. A toxicology report released in November showed Ferrell had 60 mg/dl of ethanol in his system, equal to a .06 if blown during a DWI check point. The legal limit in North Carolina is .08.

The Ferrell family filed a civil suit against the city, county, CMPD and former Police Chief Rodney Monroe on Jan. 14, 2014.The suit was settled in May 2015 for $2.25 million.

George Laughrun and Michael J. Greene will represent Kerrick. His attorneys were hired by the Fraternal Order of Police.

Recent stories:

Channel 9 will have a team of reporters covering the Kerrick trial each day. Follow @wsoctv on Twitter for continuous updates.

Twitter handles for reporters who will be covering the trial:

Click here to see a timeline of events in this case

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