Thursday, March 4th 2021, 5:11 pm
Jurors found Matthew Hall guilty of being an accessory to felony in the shooting death of a Tulsa police sergeant.
Matthew Hall was charged with accessory to felony for allegedly picking up David Ware, the man accused of shooting Sgt. Craig Johnson and Ofc. Aurash Zarkeshan last summer. Sgt. Johnson later died as a result of the shooting.
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He was found guilty on both counts of accessory to felony and jurors recommended 12 years for each. Jurors reached a verdict around 4 p.m. on Thursday after deliberating for about three hours.
Prosecutors and Hall's attorney both told the jury that Hall is guilty of the crime, so the decision is about his punishment.
Prosecutors said the evidence is overwhelming of Hall's guilt, including the dash cam video of him at the scene and the video of his confession.
Hall's attorney, however, said Hall was confronted by a man with a gun who jumped into his car. The attorney asked jurors what they would have done in the same situation.
Prosecutors said this was a good day for the community of Tulsa because this has been such a hard case on everyone.
“I’m not going to say that this case is going to give this community closure, but it’s giving us at least a step forward from that awful day on June 29th of 2020. The day, as Mr. Gray has said, brought this community to its knees,” District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.
Formal sentencing for Hall will be on March 22 and the judge will determine if the sentences will run together or back-to-back.
Reagan Ledbetter joined the News On 6 team close to June 2018 as a multimedia journalist. Over the years, he has become a familiar face to viewers, now anchoring the News On 6 at Noon. Reagan also specializes in crime reporting, with his dedication to journalism being driven by his passion for keeping Oklahomans safe and informed.
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