Yakima, Washington

From the Yakima Herald Republic of November 4, 2006

Jury finds Kansas man not guilty of murder

Willie Rodriguez asked for it, he got it, and a jury Friday exonerated the man who did it.

Deliberating barely two hours, the jury of 10 women and two men acquitted Judd Stephen Hurst of second-degree murder for gunning down Rodriguez, 19, in a gun-waving confrontation last year alongside a dark road outside Toppenish.

In a separate verdict, the jury ruled the shooting was justified under a state law that protects the right of self-defense and ordered that Hurst, 27, receive reimbursement in the form of civil damages. A dollar figure will be decided later.

Yakima County Superior Court Judge Jim Lust signed papers on the spot freeing Hurst from jail, where he had spent the past 14 months awaiting trial. A related gun charge was also dismissed.

Afterwards, Hurst's trial attorney, Ken Therrien, said the verdict was one of the most satisfying in his career. His client earlier had rejected a plea bargain to a charge of second-degree manslaughter.

"He didn't need any prodding," Therrien said of Hurst. "He said, 'I can't take that. That's not what happened.' "

The verdict came as no surprise to those who followed the trial, which began two weeks ago and often seemed more like a coroner's inquest. The jury also rejected a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter.

The shooting on Aug. 28, 2005, culminated a confrontation that began at a party attended by Hurst, who is from Overland Park, Kan., and was visiting friends in the area.

Witnesses testified Rodriguez, a member of a reputed street gang called the Outlaws, became angry when Hurst and a friend offered to give a woman named Angelica Gopher a ride home. Gopher was Rodriguez's off-and-on girlfriend, and they had a child together.

Rodriguez pursued the Hurst car, forcing it off McDonald Road. Rodriguez's 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat with Gopher. Witnesses testified Rodriguez got out and began threatening Hurst and the other occupants of the car with a .25-caliber chrome-plated pistol.

Hurst then grabbed a Glock semiautomatic pistol from under his car seat and opened fire at close range, firing 13 bullets in just a few seconds. Rodriguez was hit 11 times, including five or six times at almost point-blank range after he collapsed to the ground.

(More detail)

From the Yakima Herald of April 21, 2007

Ex-suspect reimbursed for attorney

A former murder defendant was reimbursed $2,000 for the cost of a lawyer under a rarely invoked state law that protects the right of self-defense.

Even so, the money was a pittance compared with the $30,000 in lost wages requested by Judd Stephen Hurst for the 14 months he sat in jail awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

But Yakima County Superior Court Judge James Lust refused to honor the larger sum, noting there was no proof the 27-year-old Hurst actually lost any wages.

The case stemmed from a shooting on a dark road outside of Toppenish the night of Aug. 28, 2005.

The shooting culminated a confrontation that began at a party when 19-year-old Willie Rodriguez became incensed with his girlfriend for getting a ride home from Hurst, who was from Overland Park, Kan., and was visiting friends in the area.

At the party, Rodriguez assaulted his girlfriend and threw beer on her while she was holding the couple's daughter. He then pursued Hurst's car, forcing it off the road and threatening Hurst and other occupants with a pistol.

Hurst grabbed a pistol from under his car seat and opened fire at close range. Rodriguez was hit 11 times, including five or six times at almost point-blank range after he collapsed to the ground.

At trial last year, prosecutors alleged Hurst overreacted to Rodriguez's drunken threats and that any danger posed by the victim was over with by the time Hurst fought back.

But Hurst testified that in the confusion, he didn't realize Rodriguez had put down his gun. Other witnesses tended to corroborate his story. There was no question Rodriguez was drunk and angry. His young daughter was in the Hurst car.

A jury deliberated barely two hours before acquitting Hurst. Not only that, the jury ruled the shooting was justified under a 1977 law that protects the right of self-defense.

In addition, the jury also recommended Hurst be reimbursed for costs. What those costs were, exactly, was a little unclear.

The state, represented by deputy prosecutor Duane Knittle, did not dispute that Hurst's family deserved reimbursement for a temporary $2,000 retainer to local attorney Adam Moore.

The family hired Moore, the dean of criminal defense attorneys in Yakima, in a bid to dissuade prosecutors from filing charges against Hurst in the first place. Prosecutors did anyway.

Judge Lust ruled the no-refund retainer was clearly owed to Hurst or his family, although it was uncertain who paid it and exactly who would get the check.

Hurst's trial attorney, Ken Therrien, also made a pitch that Hurst deserved wages he would have earned during the time he was sitting in jail.

"Mr. Hurst is a free man today," Therrien said, "but he lost 15 months of his life."

But Lust ruled that an unsigned statement from a restaurant owner in Seattle just wasn't enough to establish that Hurst had a job lined up. Hurst has since moved back to Kansas.