At this hour, a jury of 5 men and 7 women is deliberating the fate of 5 men charged with the murder of 19 year old Randy Coye who was killed on October 2, 2009 at Lord Ridge Cemetery.
The jury retired around 4:20 p.m. - and court observers say they might not come out until late tonight.
The five whose fates are being decided are 25 year old Deshawn Mena, 25 year old Brandon Smith, 22 year old Leon Gray, 22 year old Kenroy Humes and 29 year old Edwin "Drive" Flowers.
The chief witness for the prosecution was Emmanuel Willoughby who was granted immunity from prosecution by the office of the DPP after he gave police a statement that implicated the 5 accused.
Willoughby testified and said that Flowers and Smith were not at the Cemetery when Coye was killed but they participated in the planning.
Willoughby said he was at the cemetery when Coye was taken there and was stabbed and beaten before Gray shot him with a sawed-off shot gun.
All five accused gave statements from the dock in which they denied their involvement in the incident and they said that they were not at the scene when Coye was killed. Each of them called alibi witnesses who testified and corroborated their statements. Gary, Humes and Flowers are being represented by attorney Anthony Sylvester. Mena and Smith are being represented by attorney Arthur Saldivar. The director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Lyn Vidal is representing the prosecution.
The trial began 4 weeks ago. The charge was dismissed from the 5 accused last year at the Magistrate Court. But they were rearrested and re-indicted.
