MARIPOSA - The jurors filed into the courtroom in silence last Thursday.
Accused murderer Christopher Michael McCurdy sat the same way, looking
extremely anxious.
McCurdy was set to hear the fate the seven-woman, five-man jury had for
him after a week of deliberation. He was charged with the murder of Lonnie
Ritter of Greeley Hill on Dec. 16, 2008.
None of the jurors looked at McCurdy as they filled the box. The defendant,
however, looked at them as if he were searching for a clue as to what
their decision might be.
In just moments, court clerk Corrie Richards had the verdicts in her hands.
She methodically read the jury’s decision on each count. The first
to be read was the murder charge. The jury’s verdict: not guilty.
Instead, the body went with the “lesser included” charge of
voluntary manslaughter. The biggest difference in the two is that McCurdy
will not now face a potential life sentence. McCurdy was also found guilty
of three counts of grand theft of a firearm, vehicle theft and battery.
He could face up to 23 years in state prison.
Judge Robert Ahern polled the jury about their decision, then thanked them
for their service. He said in 30 years on the bench, he had never had
such a difficult time finding jurors.
“I have never suffered the frustration in finding a panel,”
he said, referencing the fiasco of missing jurors when the case began.
“People chose not to come. They had excuses.”
To the 12 people who did accept their responsibility, Ahern said, “Some
people didn’t step forward to fill their duty. You did.” The
judge reminded them that Veterans’ Day was quickly approaching,
and its recognition is directly tied to the justice system. “The
rights that we have we take for granted,” Ahern said. “Veterans
shed blood to ensure you had these rights. Those people sacrificed. I
compliment and salute you.”
The jury had heard testimony from dozens of witnesses throughout the trial.
Likely the two most influential of which were Kevin Hoke, who has pleaded
to being an accessory, and Mc- Curdy himself.
McCurdy’s defense attorney
Jeffrey Tenenbaum, maintained throughout the trial that his client acted in self-defense.
Tenenbaum said to jurors during his opening statement, “Mr. McCurdy
was holding the gun. Mr. McCurdy fired the gun,” he continued. “This
is not a case of who done it. This is a case of what is it?” He
said the shooting was “an accident.”
Tenenbaum went on to describe the nature of the relationship between the
defendant and Ritter, as they shared a home in Greeley Hill. “The
reality was this was a very loving relationship,” Tenenbaum said.
“My client loved him like a father.”
The defense attorney called the victim a “mean, mean nasty drunk”
who “liked his guns.”
Days later, Hoke and McCurdy each took the stand. They are the only two
people in the world who know what happened right before Ritter was shot
to death. Each gave their story to the jury. While pieces of the tales
were similar, the details surrounding the moments immediately preceding
and following the gunshot varied greatly.
“I heard a gunshot,” Hoke told the jury. “Different things
went through my mind.” He went to the living room where he said
McCurdy was still holding the gun over Ritter. “What did you do?”
Hoke remembered screaming at McCurdy. “What the **** did you do?”
McCurdy responded. “Holy Toledo. Homeboy’s dead,” Hoke
recounted McCurdy saying. “I just shot homeboy.”
When McCurdy took the stand, he said Ritter was threatening that night.
“I was talking to Lonnie, telling him ‘let’s work this
out,'” McCurdy said. Ritter continued to curse him. “I
got something for you,” Ritter told Mc- Curdy. He meant it was the 9mm gun.
“He picked up the 9mm, started to get out of the chair and pointed
it at me,” McCurdy said in court. “I pushed the barrel away
from my face.”
Then there was a struggle, according to McCurdy. “In the struggle,
the 9 was getting yanked,” he continued. “My adrenaline rush
was going.”
The gun went off. “I don’t remember that split second,”
McCurdy said. “All I remember is the sound of the shot. I remember
him flying back.” McCurdy said he never had any intention of killing
Ritter and reiterated that Hoke witnessed the whole thing.
McCurdy had previously written a letter to Hoke’s attorney that indicated
the opposite. “I, Chris McCurdy, want you to know that Kevin Hoke
was not involved whatsoever,” in Ritter’s murder, the letter
states. “I think he shouldn’t even get charged with accessory
of murder after the fact,” McCurdy continued, “when there
was nothing he could do about it.”
McCurdy will be sentenced on Dec. 7. Hoke will be sentenced sometime after
McCurdy, as noted in his plea deal. He could spend up to four years in
prison for his role helping McCurdy after the fact.