Jury finds capital murder defendant not guilty

Michael Wetzel, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·1 min read

Dec. 9—A jury this afternoon found Zachary Bernard Williams not guilty of capital murder in the February 2019 shooting death of Michael Irvin Jr.

The jury advised Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott at 2:20 p.m. that it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict, but Elliott told them to continue their deliberations. They returned with the not guilty verdict at 4:25 p.m.

Williams, 33, of Hartselle, and co-defendant Ulysses Ke'Andre Wilkerson, 22, were indicted on three counts of capital murder in the fatal shooting and robbery of Irvin, 30, at Irvin's home in the 1600 block of Marion Street in Decatur.

Prosecutors said Williams and Wilkerson kicked in the door to Irvin's house about 2 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2019, fought with him and fired about a dozen shots. An autopsy report showed Irvin was struck at least eight times. A ballistic expert said all of the spent shell casings came from the same handgun.

Wilkerson is being tried separately for capital murder. His trial date has not been set. The penalty for a person convicted of capital murder is either death or life in prison without parole.

This story will be updated.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.