MARION COUNTY — A previously deadlocked Marion County jury returned 10 minutes later with a guilty verdict Friday afternoon in the murder trial against 32-year-old Ricky Norwood for the 2015 shooting death of 24-year-old Dustin Rhynes.
Both defense and prosecution rested their cases Thursday in Marion County Court in the jury trial charging Norwood with the August 2015 murder of Rhynes who was found dead in a Centralia alley.
The prosecution presented their case in nearly three days of testimony but admitted early on there were no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting that took Rhynes’ life.
Defense attorney Dennis Hatch argued Thursday the prosecution hadn’t proven their case and made a motion for a directed verdict.
Judge Mark Stedelin denied the motion, ruling the prosecution had established a conflict and confrontation and that the defendant had been identified getting into a van after running from the direction the gunfire was heard.
Judge Stedelin also noted the testimony from a jail informant who testified Thursday that Norwood told him while they were both in jail that if his murder case was close he would put the blame on a now-deceased man.
Having reserved his opening statement Tuesday, attorney Hatch presented his opening statement to the jury Friday, claiming the prosecution had not met their burden of proof and had presented no direct evidence.
Bail was revoked in the case and Norwood was remanded back to the Marion County Jail to await a December 6 sentencing date.