‘Senseless act.’ Jury convicts man in Lexington murder despite self-defense argument
A Fayette County jury on Wednesday convicted a man of murder in a Lexington shooting death despite the defendant’s claim that he fired in self-defense.
Aramis Murray, 30, stood trial this week for murder in the death of 30-year-old Jason Lemer Smith in April 2018. Murray claimed self-defense, alleging that he believed Smith had a gun. But prosecutors said in court there’s no evidence to support Murray’s claim and this shooting was “another senseless act of gun violence.”
The jury agreed with prosecutors and convicted Murray after several hours of deliberation Wednesday.
Murray shot Smith on the front porch of Smith’s home, a residence on Corral Street where Murray had also been staying, according to court testimony. Prosecutors alleged that Smith was trying to confront Murray because Murray threatened his and Smith’s girlfriends with a gun. Murray had been arguing with the women and making threats to them all day, prosecutors said.
Jurors had been told they could convict Murray of murder, second-degree manslaughter or reckless homicide if they found him guilty. .
After their murder verdict, jurors recommended that Murray serve 25 years in prison.
Murray’s attorney, Daniel Whitley, had argued in court that Smith threatened Murray during the confrontation and Smith acted as if he had a gun. Smith was much bigger than Murray, making the confrontation potentially more dire for Murray, Whitley said.
One witness said Smith was known to have a gun and “fidgeted” during the altercation with Murray as if he may have been reaching for a gun, according to court testimony.
“If a person’s fidgeting, arguing with you, making threats and suggesting they have a gun on them, don’t you believe this young man right here felt like his life was in danger? Yes,” Whitley had told jurors.
Whitley had argued that Murray and Smith were close to each other on the porch, with Smith standing over Murray as the altercation happened.
“He had a right to defend himself,” Whitley said.
Prosecutors: No evidence that Lexington victim had a gun
In his closing argument, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Dan Laren argued that investigators never found the gun that Murray claimed Smith had. Police found nothing when they cleared the home after responding to the shooting.
“There’s no weapon in that house,” Laren said to jurors Wednesday. “There’s no ammunition. There’s no holster ... there’s nothing in that house that suggests there was a weapon in that residence — Jason’s residence.”
Prosecutors said Smith wanted to confront Murray over Murray’s threats, but Murray had no justifiable reason to use deadly force on Smith. Evidence showed Smith couldn’t have been standing over Murray, prosecutors said. There was a downward trajectory on Smith’s bullet wounds.
“Now how can Jason, who’s a big dude, who’s taller and much bigger than this defendant, how can he be standing over and threatening the shooter when the gunshots are all downward trajectory?” Laren asked jurors during closing statements.
Laren said there also wasn’t any gunshot residue on Smith’s shirt or head, indicating Murray had to have been at least 3 feet away from Smith when he fired.
Before the verdict, Laren also told jurors that Murray evaded arrest, lied to police and changed his story. Murray fled the scene when the shooting happened, according to court testimony. He left the gun on the roof of a nearby business, but later told investigators where it was.
Authorities found and detained Murray less than 24 hours after the shooting. When questioned, he told police he “wasn’t even there,” according to court testimony.
“Somebody else shot,” Murray said, according to court testimony.
Murray later admitted to the shooting but told investigators he reacted in self-defense. He alleged that Smith pulled a 9 mm handgun on him.
“I popped his a**” to avoid getting shot, Murray said, according to court testimony.
But Murray changed his description of the gun, Laren said, and multiple witnesses said they never saw Smith with a gun.
“The story that the defendant told about Jason having a gun, threatening him ... is a lie,” Laren said.
Murray’s phone records revealed he was talking to people about the shooting and saving news stories and other information about Smith’s death, according to Laren. Murray didn’t tell anyone in text messages that he fired in self-defense or that Smith had a gun.
In closing arguments, Whitley argued that Murray’s efforts to evade arrest and his lying to the police didn’t change what happened in the shooting. If Smith was threatening Murray and made Murray believe his life was in danger, Murray is innocent, according to Whitley.
Whitley also maintained that investigators didn’t try hard enough to determine whether or not Smith had a gun. He suggested they should have pulled more phone records for Smith to see what was on his phone. He also said investigators found “bundles of drugs” in Smith’s wallet, and suggested that someone with “bundles of drugs” could’ve had a gun.
Prosecutors acknowledged the cocaine found in Smith’s wallet but Smith worked two jobs to make a living and was a good father. The prosecution kept a photo of Smith sitting in the courtroom.
Murray had the right to self-defense, but he wasn’t standing his ground because Smith never presented “imminent danger,” according to Laren.
“You don’t shoot somebody three times by mistake. You don’t hit them, literally, right between the eyes” by mistake, Laren told jurors.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 3:49 PM.