‘It’s been nerve-racking.’ Jury finds man not guilty in downtown Lexington murder trial
Jacouri Burns, 26, was found not guilty of murder and second-degree assault after a deadly shooting that occurred in downtown Lexington last year.
After two hours of deliberation, the jury came back and found Burns not guilty of both charges. Burns admitted to shooting Lonnie Oxendine, 22, during a fight outside the Lexington City Center on Jan. 31, 2021. But he said he did so in self-defense because he was worried he would be shot.
Before Burns was temporarily remanded into custody to be processed and released, he was allowed to greet his family.
Anthony Peoples, Burns’ brother, said when he heard the verdict, he felt tears of joy.
“It’s the truth,” he said. “We don’t have to stress anymore about him. It’s been nerve-racking, the past year and a half. We have been on the edge of our seats having nights of tears and good memories. We are just thankful for this day.”
Deborah Hayes, the defendant’s aunt, said she had happy tears, and was rejoicing.
“I knew that God would come through and it would come out in the end,” she said crying. “I knew God would come for Jacouri and he would be justified and that has happened. It’s over, but really it is just the beginning. He’s been given another chance.”
Defense: jury had ‘obligation to find him not guilty’
Defense attorney Joseph Eggert told the jury before deliberations that if there was reasonable doubt of the crime, they must find Burns not guilty on account of self defense.
“That is the way it has been for 200 years, that is the way it is today, and hopefully for another 200 years. If that is the case, your sworn obligation is to find him not guilty,” he said.
Eggert argued throughout the case that Burns made the decision to shoot Oxendine because he received threats the previous night and earlier that day. He assumed the threats were made by Oxendine, who Burns owed money from a canceled show that Oxendine was supposed to perform in. Oxendine was a rapper and Burns was a promoter at the time.
Burns said in court testimony that the party which Oxendine was supposed to perform at was shut down because of Oxendine and a group of people he had with him who were in a VIP section. The dispute between the two started that night because Oxendine wanted back the $900 he’d paid for the VIP section.
Eggert brought up Snapchat messages which were considered threats. Burns believed Oxendine sent the threats. While it was not officially proven the messages came from Oxendine, Burns assumed they did, because the sender mentioned $900 being repaid to him, which was the amount for a VIP section at the party Oxendine was supposed to perform at.
Oxendine was one of two people to purchase these seats, Burns said. The other was a female.
“These threats are not from some unknown entity out of the blue, that no one has heard of, police have found, or Lonnie’s entourage mentioned. Those threats, ladies and gentlemen, are from Lonnie Oxendine,” Eggert said.
Video footage from the scene of the deadly shooting showed that Oxendine punched Burns. Burns testified that Oxendine said if he didn’t pull the money owed to him out of his pockets, he was going to have his “shooters” kill him.
He also argued Oxendine was planning to commit robbery and get the money he felt he was owed “one way or another.”
“The law says to take money by force even if unsuccessful, that is robbery,” Eggert said. “Burns had no duty to retreat, he could meet force with force, and he could use his gun to protect himself to prevent himself from being beaten again and Oxendine going through his pockets for money.”
Prosecutors: Burns ‘brought a gun to a fist fight’
Prosecutors argued that Burns brought a “gun to a fist fight.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Cassady quoted Burns’ testimony in which he said he fired a warning shot.
“‘He fired a warning shot.’ That is not a reaction to deadly force,” Cassady said.
She said Burns claimed to be a skilled gun owner but didn’t “think first and shoot second.”
“He came to the Marriott, a place where he knew was occupied because there were cars parked outside with their lights on,” Cassady said. “He didn’t even know if there were people in those cars, and he came in and shot four times because he thought Lonnie Oxendine was getting into his space.”
She then talked about the shot fired at Marlin Hines, who Burns claimed he thought was the man who was going to shoot him, when Oxendine reportedly said, “I have my shooters right here.” Cassady said Vines was just smoking a cigarette when the fight broke out between Oxendine and Burns.
Cassady also said Oxendine and his group weren’t the reason the party was shut down the night before, and there wasn’t proof Oxendine sent the threatening messages to Burns.
“Other rappers and performers who had paid to open for the main act, they also wanted their money back,” Cassady argued. “The Grand Reserve was filled with people upset with the fact they couldn’t perform.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 4:39 PM.
