First Posted: 3/11/2015
LIMA — Marcus Simpson Sr. and his family walked out of an Allen County courtroom relieved and happy the man authorities said killed their son was convicted.
“I don’t think it was a victory for anybody but at least our family got justice,” Simpson said moments after a jury convicted Jaquone Phillips in the shooting death of his son, Marcus Simpson Jr.
Simpson said the trial gave his family a chance to learn the truth about his son’s death.
A jury took three hours and 41 minutes to convict Phillips of murder with a gun and having a gun under a court sanction. Phillips is scheduled to be sentenced April 21. Murder with a gun carries 18 year to life in prison while the other charge carries up to five years in prison.
Phillips, 19, bowed his head in disbelief as the verdicts were read. He appeared to be emotional but not crying as he was led out of the courtroom maintaining his innocence.
“I didn’t kill no one. I didn’t murder no one,” Phillips said.
The courtroom was packed with family from both sides. Two members of Phillips’ family became loud after the verdicts and one woman was held for contempt of court. Judge David Cheney told the jury of seven men and five women sheriff deputies would escort them to their cars.
Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Tony Miller said the video and Phillips’ statements were the deciding factor.
“When you pair those two things together, as we told the jury during the closing arguments, it led to one person who was the shooter,” Miller said. “Although you can’t see his face, he identified himself.”
Earlier in the day, both sides delivered closing arguments. Prosecutors told jurors to follow a man in the surveillance video who they said was Phillips and watch him go into what appears to be a shooting stance aimed in the direction of Simpson, who fell outside a vehicle April 12, at the H&R Lounge where he was shot in the heart.
Miller said Phillips’ statement to a detective matches nearly everything he said he did in the video except shoot Simpson.
“He told 99 percent of the truth that night except one thing that he shot and killed Marcus Simpson,” Miller said.
But defense attorney Steve Chamberlain said besides the poor quality of the video that is hard to follow, no witness said Phillips shot Simpson and no witness spotted a gun in Phillips’ hands.
“None of it is there. There’s no muzzle flash. At the very least you would have picked up a muzzle flash or a flicker at the end of the hand,” Chamberlain said. “Even the state’s own witness didn’t see a gun.”
Miller blamed the lack of a muzzle flash at night on the poor video and the chance it was washed out by lighting in the parking lot.
Chamberlain continued attacking the surveillance video.
“Here’s the problem when it comes down to it and you take everything else away, [you have] some grainy video footage,” Chamberlain said.
Prosecutors also said Phillips had a motive to kill Simpson. People Simpson associated with said in a video he saw just before the shooting that Phillips was going to die.
But Chamberlain said Phillips only became a suspect after detectives learned he fought with Simpson that night.
“All he did is fight. Stupid? Yes. Ill-advised? Yes, but he didn’t shoot anybody,” Chamberlain said.
