UPDATE:
Jeffrey Conrad has been sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison, after the jury returned a guilty verdict on a lesser charge of 2nd degree manslaughter.
Conrad will be eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of that sentence, minus time already served.
Formal sentencing is set for May 6, in McCracken Circuit Court with Judge Tim Kaltenbach.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The trial of Jeffrey Conrad is now with a jury.
McCracken Circuit Court Judge Tim Kaltenbach charged the jury of 7 men and 5 women, and they went into a room to deliberate about 1:00 pm Monday. They will decide the fate of Conrad, who is charged with the murder of Casey Cox on June 8, 2015.
Evidence was presented last week, and closing statements were delivered Monday morning.
Defense attorney Doug Moore told the jury that Conrad didn't wake up on the morning of June 8 looking for trouble, or planning to kill someone. He said Conrad saw a burglary in progress – of his property - and tried to stop Cox and Brandon York from getting away.
Moore said Cox repeatedly told the men to stop, but when Cox put their pickup truck in reverse and began moving toward Conrad's friend, Missy McKendree, Conrad fired his pistol, hitting Cox in the head in the head.
Moore painted a picture of a man defending his friend from thieves who would do anything to get away.
Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said Conrad is not a responsible gun owner and that he acted as Cox's judge, jury and executioner. While not disputing that Cox and York were breaking the law, he said Cox was scared of a man who quickly drew a gun, and was simply trying to get to a safe place.
Boaz told the jury that Conrad was angry because his property had been stolen, and he shot Cox because Cox didn't follow Conrad's orders at the scene.
After a lunch break, a man was chosen as an alternate from among the 13 people who heard the case, and deliberations started.
