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A South Carolina man who spent almost four years behind bars charged with the murder of Greenville Design Review Board member Mike Mecklenburg is back home today, and the 2017 homicide is back in the cold case file, according to local newspaper reporting.
The 59-year-old Mecklenburg, an artist who worked as an Uber driver for income between sales of his artworks, was found shot to death in his car on Power Street near a house where he had dropped off a passenger on April 14th, five years ago.
The trial of the man accused of killing him, 26 year old Joseph Johnson III, began Wednesday. Deputies who arrested him at his mother's home near the murder scene testified he had argued with Mecklenburg shortly before the shooting.
Prosecutors also introduced cellphone records they told the jury placed Johnson at the scene. However, Johnson's defense included expert witnesses who testified phone records could not pinpoint his whereabouts that closely.
In closing arguments Thursday, Johnson's lawyer pointed to the lack of any direct evidence, no fingerprints, DNA, or powder residue, and the murder weapon was never found.
Just hours later, the jury returned a not guilty verdict. A statement from District Solicitor Walt Wilkin's office reads, "We regret the verdict, but we respect the jury's decision."
The 59-year-old Mecklenburg, an artist who worked as an Uber driver for income between sales of his artworks, was found shot to death in his car on Power Street near a house where he had dropped off a passenger on April 14th, five years ago.
The trial of the man accused of killing him, 26 year old Joseph Johnson III, began Wednesday. Deputies who arrested him at his mother's home near the murder scene testified he had argued with Mecklenburg shortly before the shooting.
Prosecutors also introduced cellphone records they told the jury placed Johnson at the scene. However, Johnson's defense included expert witnesses who testified phone records could not pinpoint his whereabouts that closely.
In closing arguments Thursday, Johnson's lawyer pointed to the lack of any direct evidence, no fingerprints, DNA, or powder residue, and the murder weapon was never found.
Just hours later, the jury returned a not guilty verdict. A statement from District Solicitor Walt Wilkin's office reads, "We regret the verdict, but we respect the jury's decision."
