Posted on 12/26/2021 4:25:40 AM PST by marktwain
EVERETT — Ryan Leenders collapsed and wept in the arms of his defense attorneys Thursday as the verdict in his murder trial was read aloud.
Not guilty of first-degree murder.
Not guilty of second-degree murder.
Not guilty of first-degree assault.
It took a jury of five women and seven men less than two days to acquit Leenders, 36, of all charges related to the deadly shooting of William Harper, 28, who was a guest at a party in 2020.
Leenders walked out of the courtroom a free man, two days before Christmas.
The jury sat through nearly four weeks of witness testimony this month in front of Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss. Leenders took the stand in his trial, testifying he thought Harper had a gun in his pocket. Leenders claimed self-defense.
Jurors accepted his story.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldnet.com ...
Earlier that evening, Sunday, May 25, 2020, Harper and a female friend went on a walk in south Everett, according to charging papers. They passed Leenders’ house at 210 East Beech St. Leenders, a stranger, saw the pair and invited them to join a party he was hosting. Harper and his female friend accepted the invitation. They had a few drinks and hung out. Leenders invited Harper and his female friend to join him in the hot tub.
At first I thought Leenders was hitting on a dude.
No doubt, at least if he were a white cop.
And four weeks of testimony???
Lesson: If a stranger invites you to a party as you’re walking by his house, keep walking.
“thought he had a gun in his pocket...”
Unless the guy’s hand was in the same pocket, gun-in-pocket does not add up to “reasonable fear of immediate serious injury or death”. The Defendant created the situation, the victim reportedly was leaving — this does not sound like self-defense. There have to be facts we aren’t being told in the article.
the oj reaction....”I can’t believe the jury believed this BS”...
The defense used the Chewbacca defense
.
Works every time.
He was was a manager at Boeing and wealthy enough to be good for a $2 million bail. You can bet your life he was willing to give up that $2 million, plus anything else he had, to beat a charge for 1rst degree murder.
He might have had some good luck as well, e.g. getting a jury that could be swayed by such a ludicrous story.
Some Bail bondsman got $200k but not a lot of profit.
Everett is not a blue city, and these people were not rich by any measure.
I personally might lean toward neg homicide because the accused created the whole situation.
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