Federal jury convicts man of bank robbery but not security guard’s death www.privateofficer.com
The jury, however, held that Iralee E. French Jr., 24, of Kansas City, was not responsible for the death of security guard Dwight W. Mayhugh, who suffered a shotgun wound during a robbery on Feb. 24, 2006.
Defense lawyer Steve Moss described the shotgun wound as “superficial” and urged jurors in closing arguments to consider the testimony of an expert witness who said that Mayhugh died of respiratory distress resulting from his hospital treatment.
Prosecutors countered that medical examiners had found that Mayhugh died of complications of a gunshot wound, and they urged jurors to find French guilty of using a firearm in a crime of violence resulting in death.
Jurors also found French not guilty of two counts of carjacking and two other gun counts related to carjacking.
Despite the not guilty verdicts, French is likely to receive a substantial prison sentence.
A co-defendant, Thirplus Moose, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this month to helping French rob the banks and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death.
Both men were charged with conspiring in a robbery on Feb. 9, 2006, and the subsequent robbery attempt on Feb. 24 in which Mayhugh was wounded.
The robberies at the UMB Bank at 7901 Wornall Road went unsolved until 2008, when a taxi driver recalled dropping off two men near the bank minutes before the crime.
Source:www.kansascity.com
