Law grad is acquitted in shoving death outside bar
A law school graduate has been acquitted in the shoving death of a man who was struck and killed by a car outside a bar in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mecklenburg County jurors acquitted Charlotte School of Law grad Kenan Gay on Friday, report the Charlotte Observer and McLatchy News. The 25-year-old man was acquitted on charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the March 2012 death of Robert Kingston.
Gay testified during the trial that he reacted after Kingston kissed Gay’s girlfriend at Ed’s Tavern, according to previous coverage by the Charlotte Observer. Gay said he pushed Kingston out of the bar and into a small parking lot, but other witnesses said Gay pushed Kingston into the street. Kingston died after he was hit by a passing car.
Jurors visited the bar to view the scene along with the judge, lawyers and other court personnel. Gay was also there, but he stayed mostly out of sight. After the verdict, jury foreman Larry Williams said the events that unfolded in the final moments of Kingston’s life were unclear.
“The case took place outside the bar,” Williams told the Charlotte Observer. “Three seconds. We could never determine what happened, and we could never get our questions answered.”
Gay and the girlfriend are now married.
Hat tip to Above the Law.
