Belfast, Maine

From Bangor’s WLBZ2.com of September 16, 2005

Jury Finds Brooks Man Not Guilty Of Murder

A man from Brooks who says he was protecting his home and family when he shot his father's girlfriend is a free man.

Jerome Reynolds II was on trial for murdering Janet Bacon. Reynolds admitts he shot Bacon at his home, but insists it was self-defense.

It took the jury six and a half hours to decide Reynolds is not guilty of murdering Janet Bacon.

When the verdict was read the Bacon family stormed out visably upset over the jury's verdict. They say the defense portrayal of Janet Bacon as an animal was not true, and say Bacon was a visitor not an intruder in Reynolds home.

The Reynolds family were also emotional as they left court, but none wanted to stop and talk. They followed Reynolds as he was taken in a police car to Waldo County Jail, where he signed out and left a free man. The Bacon family says they will appeal the decision.

"She's a human being and he shot her in the face, she was my children's grandmother, and she loved her children and her family and all she was to them was a dog that needed to be put to sleep...and that's what they did," says Tammy Walker, Bacon's daughter-in-law.

Reynolds attorney, Jeff Silverstein says even though his client was aquitted, this case does not set precedent for using guns in the home to ward off tresspassers. He says the prosecution was unable to convince the jury that Reynolds was guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt.

"My client felt horrible about what happened, but truly beleived he acted appropriate at the time, I'm certain that he and his family are ecstatic that the jury found as they did and allowed him to return home to his family," says defense attorney, Jeff Silverstein.