YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Jurors in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court handed in their verdict Thursday afternoon in a Youngstown shooting death case.
Jurors found Stevie Ballard, 23, not guilty of the Jan. 22, 2022, shooting death of Darrell Jackson, 22, of Youngstown.
Ballard broke into tears after jurors left the courtroom and embraced his attorney, Mark Lavelle.
Jurors reached their verdicts after deliberating for a little over an hour. They heard closing arguments and received instructions in the law from Judge Anthony Donofrio.
Ballard was on trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court before Judge Anthony Donofrio on a charge of aggravated murder.
Jackson was found shot to death at about 1:30 p.m. in a car at East Philadelphia Avenue and Market Street.
A jury was seated Monday and began hearing testimony in the case Tuesday.
Wednesday, the lead investigator on the case, Detective Sgt. Jerry Fulmer testified.
The defense rested without calling a single witness. Ballard did not testify.
Prosecutors say that Ballard was seen on video four hours before the shooting in the car that was used when Jackson was killed and that he had threatened to kill Jackson before.
Prosecutors did concede they could not say if Ballard fired the shots that killed Jackson or if he drove the car that was used in the shooting.
Defense attorney Mark Lavelle said prosecutors can not prove that Ballard was in that car when Jackson was killed.
