Lansing, Michigan

From the Lansing State Journal of November 1, 2007

Lansing man not guilty of murder in death of girlfriend

But he faces prison time after jurors convict him on gun possession charges

A 29-year-old legally blind Lansing man who said he shot his girlfriend in self-defense after she attacked him with several knives, was found not guilty of murder Wednesday.

Shamari Milton - who a doctor testified cannot see - had been charged with killing Nakiesha Brown on Jan. 21 in the parking lot of her Lansing apartment complex.

During the five-day trial, which ended Tuesday, Milton testified that Brown, 26, threw knives at him in her apartment during an argument, and then came after him in the parking lot. Milton said he fired the gun to scare her.

Milton's attorney, Andrew Abood criticized how investigators handled the crime scene.

"Potential evidence was lost that would have proven my client was innocent - where he never would have had to go through a trial," Abood said.

The jury did find Milton guilty of carrying a concealed weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He faces a maximum of five years in prison on those charges.

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said it was a difficult case that came down to whether Milton committed murder by firing the second shot.

"This is why we have juries - to resolve these issues," Dunnings said, adding, "We never disputed that he fired the first shot in self-defense."

Milton, who is being held at the Ing-ham County Jail, still faces an assault with intent to commit murder charge in connection with a Jan. 7 shooting. That trial is scheduled to begin in December.