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Jury clears man in slaying near a former nightspot
| Tuesday, Aug 12 2008 7:41 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Aug 12 2008 7:04 PM
Elizabeth Conley finally uttered three words she had been waiting to say for the past 26 months -- “He’s coming home.”
Photos:
John Henry Bryant
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Conley stood outside a courtroom Tuesday wiping tears from her face and talking to family members on her cell phone. Her son, John Henry Bryant, was found not guilty for the 2006 shooting death of Meko Seward at Rockin’ Rodeo. The nightclub was located on Rosedale Highway and has since closed because of the shooting and other incidents, according to a previous Californian report.
Bryant and Anthony Lee Taylor were found guilty in 2007 for Seward’s death, but a judge granted Bryant a retrial when he determined Deputy District Attorney Ken Russell breached the defendant’s constitutional rights during closing arguments. Russell had told jurors Bryant did not speak to police about the shooting when in fact he spoke with investigators twice in the 14 months after his first statement.
Taylor’s verdict remained guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
The second trial was held Tuesday, and a jury cleared Bryant of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Bryant congratulated attorney Michael Lukehart for his hard work. Lukehart said varying witness accounts led to Bryant’s acquittal.
Bryant was quiet in the courtroom with his fingers clasped in front of him on the table and had only one thing to say when he was released from the Lerdo Pretrial Facility on Tuesday evening.
“I didn’t do it. It wasn’t me,” he said.
Seward’s cousin Shelvia Randle said she attended Tuesday’s verdict announcement in hopes of gaining closure but only left with disappointment.
“Now it’s an empty void,” she said.
Randle said she and her family were in disbelief and let down by the jury’s decision.
“I feel like there is no justice,” she said.