A jury has found a 17-year-old boy guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of 19-year-old Maurice Powell one year ago.
Khiry Montay Moore was accused of killing Powell near the Addison Road Metro station last March.
The jury debated until late Thursday night, reaching its verdict on the ninth day of trial in a proceeding expected to last only three days. Jurors were reportedly frustrated by the lengthy proceedings.
The murder happened March 11, 2007, when the victim and his friends were leaving the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant Metro station about 1:30 a.m.
Prosecutors said Moore and two other men spotted Powell and his friends, who were returning from the movies, and decided to rob them. The men fled, but Moore opened fire, fatally wounding Powell, according to prosecutors.
Jurors became agitated when Moore's attorney insisted that jurors watch an 11-hour tape of an alleged confession, including periods when the defendant was sleeping.
The defense attorney said the confession was coerced, and that the tape would prove it. The judge disagreed, saying the confession was not coerced; he allowed the tape to be played anyway.
The police video clearly showed the suspect, Moore, breakdown and confess to detectives.
Detective: "What do you remember?"
Moore: "I shot."
Detective: "Okay, why?"
Moore:"I don't know, I was drunk. I didn't even mean to."
Now, however Moore says he didn't mean to shoot anyone.
Detective: "They were far away when you fired."
Moore: "Yeah, I didn't really mean to hit nobody, but I was drunk."
In the police video, just minutes after the confession, Moore's mother enters the interrogation room.
Mom: "I love you son."
Moore: "I love you too."
Mom: "Ain't nobody making you do this, did they?"
Moore: "No, it was an accident."
Jury members revolted Tuesday, sending a note to the judge saying the viewing must end.
Jurors got the case Wednesday afternoon, and deliberated until late Thursday when they returned a verdict of guilty.
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