Jury clears man of murder charges
A jury cleared a Buffalo man of murder charges Monday night but convicted him on two weapons charges related to the killing of an alleged rival city drug dealer in a territorial showdown.
Hendell R. Phillips, 27, of Suffolk Avenue, did not testify and his lawyer did not call any defense witnesses during the three-week trial.
The jury of eight women and four men began deliberations on murder and weapons counts at about 2:30 p. m. Monday in the fatal shooting of Kamal Razick, 22.
The verdict was reached around 9 p. m. Sentencing will be in March.
Phillips was charged in March with shooting Razick in the chest, arms and the back of his head after Razick opened the door to his Hartman Place home about 2:30 a. m. on Jan. 16, 2007.
Phillips has been in custody since his arrest.
In closing arguments, John R. Nuchereno, Phillips’ lawyer, argued that another member of the drug gang to which Phillips has been linked by authorities fatally shot Razick in a drug turf war.
The jury learned through prosecutors Gary W. Hackbush and Sarah A. Filacomo about admissions concerning the shooting Phillips made to a jailhouse snitch who was the chief of a rival Buffalo drug gang and is still facing several decades in prison.
The prosecutors also cited Buffalo drug detective reports about Phillips’ links to a Buffalo drug gang and identifying him as a “henchman” of one of the chieftains of that gang, which was involved in a turf war with Razick.
The jury learned Razick was taken off life-support equipment after being declared brain dead two days after the shooting.
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