Christopher North was convicted of murder Tuesday for the shooting death of Austin David, which took place in February this year after a collision and confrontation on the corner of Sayles Boulevard and S 14th Street.
Closing arguments Tuesday morning wrapped up the ten-day trial. A jury made of ten men and two women spent about only two hours deliberating the decision.
North, 45, was accused of shooting and killing David, 21, on Feb. 9. Although North admitted to shooting David, he insisted it was an act of self defense.
North and David were traveling southbound on Sayles, and upon stopping at the traffic light, both men got out of their vehicles. Witnesses of the scene testified in court that North exited his vehicle first, but David was seen first with a gun. Both men returned to their respective vehicles, but North put his pickup truck in reverse and slammed it into David’s Mustang.
The force shoved the Mustang into the median. Both men again got out of their vehicles, and this time, both were armed. North shot David in the head. Just more than an hour later in the hospital, David was declared dead.
District Attorney James Eidson argued that North was the instigator in the situation and thus at fault. “He was mad,” Eidson said during closing arguments. “He was the aggressor in this incident.”
But North’s two defense attorneys Sam Moore and David Thedford, said the opposite. Their argument stood on the foundation of self-defense, emphasizing David’s initial display of a weapon the first time both men stepped out of their vehicles.
“The only provoker in this is Austin David,” Thedford said. “The only reason that gun wasn’t found in his hand is because he dropped it when he was shot.”
A key witness to the trial was David’s girlfriend, McMurry University student Stephanie Molina, who was in the Mustang throughout the duration of the incident. Molina testified North, after the shooting, said to her, “Next time learn not to pull a gun on somebody.”
Moore told the jury he didn’t think Molina was telling the truth and although she knew exactly what happened, she never revealed it in court. Prosecutor Eidson held fast to the truth of Molina’s words.
Another key witness was Tyler Casey. Casey said he was at the stoplight of the intersection when the incident occurred, and in his opinion David was the aggressor. Video surveillance of the scene later proved that Casey was not at the location at the actual time of shooting. Eidson called Casey a liar, but Moore said whether he was stopped at the red light or not, he was focused on what was going on.
The trial lagged through a few delays, one of which was for blood work to indicate whether or not David had any illegal substances in his system during the incident. Judge Thomas Wheeler did not allow the test to be admitted as evidence because of conflicting results from different laboratories and the causes for the differentiation.
Throughout the trial, North never took the stand to defend himself. Tears were seen in his eyes at the announcement of the verdict. Sentencing begins Wednesday, and he faces a prison term of 5-99 years.
