After only a few hours of deliberation, a 12-person jury found Tony Lewis not guilty of the second-degree murder and second-degree robbery of Aaron Hobson during MU Homecoming weekend in 2010.
Attorneys from both sides finished presenting evidence in the final case connected to the murder of Hobson Friday after four days of testimony. The jury was given the case for deliberation Saturday morning and reached a verdict Saturday afternoon.
“This is about a man named Tony Lewis and his freedom, and his life is at stake here,” Defense attorney Jennifer Bukowsky said during closing arguments. “Tony Lewis was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all the evidence shows. There is no real evidence that any money is missing, no evidence that (Lewis) took money.”
Prosecutors said Lewis was connected to seven other men who robbed Hobson outside of a Break Time convenience store on Oct. 23 2010. Those seven have all pleaded guilty or were found guilty in this case.
They claimed Lewis and the seven other men approached Hobson outside of the Break Time because he was flashing $204 in $1 bills. They dragged him out of his car, a 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Lamborghini-style doors, and began to threaten him with a gun. Prosecutors then said Hobson tried to escape from his attackers but was shot three times when he got back into his car.
Prosecuting attorney Daniel Knight said Lewis had planned the robbery and murder outside of the convenience store and helped collect money that was thrown out of Hobson’s car after the defendants confronted him.
“If the defendant did nothing in the United States of America, if Tony Lewis was found doing nothing wrong here, then we’re in real big trouble here if we’re just going to accept a brutal beat down of an innocent victim,” Knight said. “This person right here is an extremely violent and dangerous criminal.”
Two of the men, including gunman Daron Peal, testified for the defense and said Lewis had nothing to do with the robbery or murder.
Defense said Lewis, who is from Booneville, didn’t know six of his seven co-defendants prior to the shooting, making it impossible for him to decide to commit a robbery with them.
“When you see Tony Lewis on the tape, he’s uncomfortable in that parking lot,” Bukowsky said during closing arguments. “He’s uncomfortable in a situation with people he doesn’t know.”
Hobson’s family members, who were present throughout the trial, said they were shocked by the jury’s decision to acquit Lewis.
“Personally I felt he was guilty, but I’m not the panel, I’m not the jury, so we have to accept what we are confronted with,” Hobson’s grandfather Al Hobson said. “The system found the eighth man innocent. I wasn’t there. If we believe in the Constitution, then we have got to believe in the results.”
Six of the seven co-defendants have been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison. The last defendant to be sentenced, Deshon Houston, will be sentenced Feb. 13, when he is expected to receive an eight-year prison sentence.