Man Exonerated After Serving Time For Murder On Trial In Separate Shooting Case

A man who spent two decades in prison for murder before being found innocent and released, is on trial in a different shooting case.

Demarco Carpenter was released from prison in 2016, then arrested in 2019 accused of shooting a man he knew. The victim, Sheldon Reed, survived.

Lieutenant Sean Larkin with the Tulsa crime gun, the lead investigator on the case, unit testified Thursday.

Carpenter's attorney has spent most of the week picking apart the investigation, saying it wasn't a thorough investigation. The attorney argued that once the victim told police he was shot by Carpenter, police didn't look for any other suspects or interview any witnesses.

Investigators said in 2019, Reed was found shot several times inside of his truck in a parking lot. Officers testified there was no evidence the shooting happened there and later determined it happened at a different location.

The victim initially told police he didn't know who shot him then later said it was Carpenter. Prosecutors argued the witnesses directly tied to Carpenter refused to talk with police without an attorney.

The jury also listened to two interviews done with the victim in the hospital where he named Carpenter as the shooter.

Carpenter's attorney said the victim pinned the shooting on Carpenter for financial gain.

Prosecutors said they will wrap up their case Thursday and they hope to get the case to the jury Friday.