Jury deliberating Curtis murder trial verdict
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The jury began deliberating about 1 p.m. in the murder trial of John C. Curtis.
Curtis, 27, Harrisburg, is standing trial on two charges of murder and a weapons charge in connection with the death of Toby Jump, 51, Niantic, on April 4, 2009. State's Attorney Mike Henshaw contends a verbal argument between Curtis, his friends, Jump and his friends led Curtis to get a gun and open fire, killing Jump.
Defense attorney Morgan Scroggins intends to show Curtis is suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder and the events immediately before the shooting caused him to believe he was threatened.
Henshaw and Scroggins both delivered closing arguments this morning. Henshaw finished a lengthy closing argument by contending Curtis became angry after being treated with what he considered disrespect by Jump and his family members, Terry Henderson, Cody Henderson and Jeremy Jump. Henshaw placed photos of the mortal wounds to Jump's face on the rail of the jury box for the jurors to see.
"This is the result of one man being disrespected," Henshaw said.
Jump ended up shot and Henderson was beaten immediately after the shooting, Henshaw said.
"Those are the two guys that suffered as a result of the defendant being disrespected," Henshaw said.
The confrontation among the two parties, which started after the Henderson group ran Curtis off from Henderson's residence, never turned physical except for a brief, relatively mild occurrence until Curtis ran to his parents' house, retrieved a gun and fired, Henshaw said. Several witnesses, including Jason Curtis and Josh Noell, who were with Curtis at the time, said the confrontation between the Henderson group and the Curtis group was not escalating to the point of someone's life being in danger, Henshaw said.
Henderson stiff-armed Curtis when he tried to rush him, testimony indicated. Henderson is about 52 and cannot extend his arm fully. The defendant is 27, physically fit and trained in hand-to-hand combat, Henshaw said.
"Do you think he was scared," Henshaw said.
"The defendant could have easily defeated Terry Henderson in hand-to-hand combat."
Curtis testified he just wanted to scare the Henderson group away because they were advancing toward him, his brother and his parents' property.
"If he just wanted to scare them, why didn't he just come out of the trailer, point the gun in the air and shoot," Henshaw said.
When he took the stand, Curtis admitted there would have been no more trouble if he had stayed inside his parents' home instead of retrieving a gun.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Toby Jump used deadly force after retreating to the safety of his parents' home," Henshaw said.
Scroggins agreed Curtis overreacted to the situation, but the circumstances surrounding the confrontation between the Henderson group and Curtis, Jason Curtis and Noell led the defendant to believe he was threatened.
"Did he make a mistake? Yes. Is he guilty of first-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt? No," Scroggins said.
Scroggins returned to a refrain he used often during the trial - "There was yelling, there was screaming, there were threats," to contend Curtis was under extreme internal pressure during the altercation with the Henderson group. Curtis suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his service in the Iraq war. He also suffers from hyper-vigilance, compared during testimony to the feeling a person has of going into a dark alley in a strange, possibly hostile neighborhood.
"Imagine feeling that dark alley feeling all the time," Scroggins said.
Curtis' actions should be judged against that backdrop, Scroggins contended.
When the Henderson group kept coming down the hill toward the Curtis group, Curtis took strong action.
"He didn't mean to kill anyone. He meant to eliminate danger. He meant to eliminate the threat. He meant to protect his brother," Scroggins said.
In rebuttal to Scroggins' arguments, Henshaw said stopping an altercation that involved yelling and threats didn't justify killing another human being.
The jury may find Curtis guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, or decide to acquit him of the charges.
Curtis also faces a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.