Jury reaches verdict in trial of two men suspected in fatal Lakewood shooting
Two men charged in a fatal shooting during a marijuana sale at a Lakewood parking lot were acquitted Friday by a Pierce County jury.
Jurors found James Richard Anderson, 41, not guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Matthew Kevin Malone, 32, also was found not guilty of second-degree murder.
The News Tribune reported the shooting occurred in early February 2020 and led to the death of Oral Rhoden, 32.
On the night of the incident, Malone planned to sell a pound of marijuana to an unidentified man at an apartment complex parking lot, according to charging documents. He and Anderson waited for the man in Malone’s Jeep Grand Cherokee.
When the man arrived, two of his friends also pulled up to the parking lot to buy pot from Malone. One of the friends was Rhoden, charging papers said.
As Rhoden walked up to Malone’s Jeep, gunshots were fired and Rhoden dropped to the ground. He was shot in the chest and died at St. Clare Hospital.
Jury instructions indicated the defendants argued Rhoden was killed in self-defense.
John Meske, Anderson’s defense attorney, said jurors weren’t convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the state had met its burden of proof.
“They had some doubt as to what happened that day,” Meske said.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Patrick Vincent said the jurors did not think Anderson was “fully forthright” during his testimony and did not think the main witness was credible either. A video used as evidence at trial was not crystal clear, he said.
“The video kind of showed what happened, but you couldn’t tell the details of who was the aggressor, who was the defender, who started it all,” Vincent said. “The video is kind of inconclusive.”
The state’s main witness was an undocumented immigrant from Jamaica who came to the United States under an assumed name, Vincent said. The defense used that as an angle to discredit that person’s testimony, he said.
Travis Currie, Malone’s defense attorney, said the jurors deliberated last week Wednesday through Friday. It was a four-week trial, and the case began May 25.
