Brian Smith
It took less than two hours Wednesday morning for a jury to convict David Daugherty of second-degree manslaughter for the Dec. 23, 2008, shooting death of Christopher Shane Adkins, and only 16 minutes for that jury to set a 10-year sentence.
The jury retired to begin deliberations shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday after Madison Circuit Judge William G. Clouse dismissed the jury to the jury room, and a verdict was returned at 11 a.m.
Jurors were permitted to find a guilty verdict on a charge of murder, first- or second-degree manslaughter or reckless homicide for Adkins’ death. The jury instructions also included information on how the concept of self-defense is defined in state law to allow jurors to consider that Daughtery killed Adkins to protect himself.
Daugherty used a 12-gauge shotgun to kill Adkins outside a home in the 5500 block of Battlefield Memorial Highway near Berea around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2008.
Testimony in the trial centered on whether Adkins was continuing to threaten Daugherty and another man, Adam Anglin, after Adkins shattered a window on Daugherty’s pickup truck with an aluminum bat.
After the jury returned the guilty verdict, prosecutors opened the sentencing phase of the trial by introducing the state parole eligibility guidelines.
Under those guidelines, Daugherty will be eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of his sentence, which equals two years in custody.
Daugherty’s attorneys, public defenders Meena Mohanty and Sarah Bryant, called Daugherty’s mother and brother to testify along with a deputy jailer from the Madison County Detention Center, where Daugherty has been held for nearly a year.
In her brief closing argument, Mohanty had asked jurors to impose a five-year sentence.
“We believe a five-year sentence is appropriate,” Mohanty said.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jennifer Hall Smith chose not to ask the jury to impose a specific sentence in her closing argument, but did explain the parole eligibility guidelines, including the fact that Daugherty will be parole eligible in a maximum of two years.
After the jury returned the 10-year sentence, Smith declined comment but did say prosecutors were “pleased” with the verdict and sentence.
Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.
