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A jury found a white Michigan man who had shot a black teenager to ask him for instructions, guilty of assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm. The verdict, released Friday, could be based on a home surveillance video showing 53 – year – old Jeffrey Craig Zeigler walking under his porch and shooting with his gun at Brennan Walker, then 14, who run away.
Zeigler was on trial for a more serious charge, assault with intent to murder, reports CNN.
Back in April, Brennan missed his school bus and tried to walk four kilometers between his stop and Rochester High School, about 20 kilometers from Detroit. Along the way, he lost his way and started knocking on the doors of nearby houses to get his way, before stopping at Zeigler's house.
After knocking on the door, Brennan says that a woman from the house started screaming at her.
"She was trying to explain to her that I was trying to go to Rochester High," Brennan told Fox 2 Detroit at the time.
Moments later Zeigler, a retired fireman, came to the door with a shotgun in his hand. Brennan went to the street after spotting the gun. While he was running away, Zeigler fired a shot at the boy.
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Subsequently, Zeigler claimed that he had never intended to shoot. CNN tells the police that the gun accidentally tripped after he fell back and his finger pulled the trigger.
But the surveillance video of Zeigler's house, which was shown to the jury at the trial, directly contradicted Zeigler's lie. In the video, we can see Zeigler, raising his gun, taking a few seconds to aim at Brennan, then firing a shot. Shooting down returns Zeigler.
In April, Brennan told Fox 2 Detroit he was happy not to "become a statistic".
"My mother says that black boys get shot because they sometimes do not look like their age and I do not look at my age. I'm 14, but I do not look like I'm 14, "Brennan said.
His mother, Lisa Wright, said that race was definitely an important factor. She told local media that she viewed Zeigler's acts as a hate crime, reports CNN.
"One of the things that stands out and that pains me the most is that while I was watching the tape, you can hear the woman say," Why did these people choose my house? Said Wright at Fox 2 Detroit. "Who are these people? "And that has set me off."
When Ziegler testified for his defense at the trial, he said he did not investigate why Brennan was at the door because the scene was "so chaotic".
"I was worried about my wife. I was afraid someone would cross the door, "said Zeigler.
Of course, the video shows that Brennan was patiently waiting on the porch, barely moving until he fled in terror at the sight of Zeigler's shotgun.
Zeigler's lawyer says the verdict shows the jury did not believe he was trying to kill Brennan.
Zeigler was also convicted of possession of a firearm while committing a crime. Sentencing is scheduled for November 13.
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