Five years and two trials later, man who shot and killed ... - Crime Blog

Anthony McMillian (Dallas County Sheriff's Department)

In July 2007, Anthony McMillian shot a 14-year-old to death outside a house on Altoona Drive in West Oak Cliff. There was never any doubt about that. There were, however, questions about the circumstances of the shooting, as in: Did Raymond Jefferson, at the time a Lancaster High School freshman, charge McMillian, or did McMillian indiscriminately fire his handgun into a crowd, as Jefferson?s family has always maintained?

The answer to that question remains elusive: In 2009 and again this year, juries were unable to find McMillian guilty of murder. And rather than stand trial a third ? or fourth or fifth time ? he has cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for deferred adjudication and his conditional freedom. If he doesn?t violate the terms of his deal for the next decade, then his plea of guilt will not show up on his record.

According to court documents, police reports and media accounts, McMillian, who is now 48, had gone to the house on July 7, 2007, with his girlfriend Gloria Potts to retrieve her daughter Amber and Amber?s 3-week-old son. Amber had called Gloria to say she?d been fighting with the baby?s father, Orlando Finley, and asked her mom to come pick them up. She did, and brought McMillian along for the ride. But a dispute over the baby turned physical, and a ruckus ensued ? with Orlando?s brother, Raymond, caught up in the brawl.

According to the original arrest affidavit, McMillian was standing near his car when the fight over the baby broke out. At that point, says the affidavit, Raymond Jefferson ?looked at Anthony McMillian and began to charge at him.? Police say McMillian fired as Jefferson ran at him. He didn?t have a concealed-handgun permit, but police said McMillian had filled out paperwork for one.

?He?s not a thug,? McMillian?s attorney, Phillip Hayes, told The News in July 2007. ?He?s not somebody who?s looking for trouble. He made a decision in a split second that, looking back, may not have been the right decision.?

McMillian first went to trial in August 2009. Hayes said McMillian could have left the scene, but that doing so would have endangered his girlfriend, her daughter and the newborn. Hayes also said McMillian had no idea Jefferson was 14. Prosecutor Susan Kihika countered by blasting McMillian?s claim of self-defense as ?ridiculous.?

A jury was unable to return a unanimous verdict. Court records contain a note that says jurors were ?divided @ 11:1,? and that the 11 were unable to change the 12th juror?s mind. They jury asked Judge Andy Chatham for advice. He wrote: Either you come up with a verdict, or another jury will be asked to do what they cannot. ?If the jury is unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict it will be necessary to declare a mistrial and dismiss the jury,? he wrote on August 28, 2009. He asked the jurors to ?listen to each other, fully evaluate each other?s position or opinion, and attempt to arrive at a unanimous verdict.?

They could not. Which is why another jury was empaneled two months ago. And it too couldn?t reach a verdict.

But records show that at 8:54 Thanksgiving morning, McMillian was booked into the Dallas County jail. The reason, according to court documents: Earlier this week he cut a deal with the state to avoid further prosecution. Says the deal document, he will be given credit for time served and be given 10 years of community supervision, for which there are 18 conditions, among them he will have to serve 120 more days in Dallas County jail.

Wrote Chatham: ?The court finds that, in this cause, it is in the best interest of society and Defendant to defer proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt and to place the Defendant on community supervision.?

Hayes says this morning that McMillian will serve 12 days in jail each year for the next decade ? and that those days will include Raymond Jefferson?s birthday and Christmas.

The attorney says it was ?pretty easy? for McMillian to drop his self-defense claim in exchange for the plea bargain because ?he?s always known he?s responsible? for the 14-year-old death. ?He?s never been able to talk about it without breaking down in tears.? Attempts to reach Jefferson?s family were unsuccessful this morning, but Hayes acknowledges, ?They would have liked to have seen it come out with a different result.?

Nevertheless, this spares them a third trial, says Hayes. ?Nobody?s happy? with the result, says the attorney, ?but everybody understands.?

In July 2007, Jacqueline Hardemon, Raymond?s mother, told The News that she could accept no excuse for her son?s death. ?What is it like to bury a child?? she said. ?What is it like to see him lying in a coffin, in this box that?s going to be closed over his entire face? What is it like for you to walk inside your home and never hear that baby?s voice, never hear that baby call, ?Mommy or Dad?? There is no word that I can even give you.?

Source: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012/11/five-years-and-two-trials-later-man-who-shot-and-killed-14-year-old-sentenced-to-10-years-supervised-release.html/

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