SAN BERNARDINO, June 28, 2007 - A former San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy was acquitted of all charges Thursday in a videotaped shooting of an unarmed airman, authorities said.
Ivory J. Webb was found not guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm for opening fire on Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion in an incident that was videotaped and broadcast around the world, said Susan Mickey, a district attorney's spokeswoman.
The verdict was returned in San Bernardino County Superior Court after a jury deliberated several hours.
Carrion, an Iraq war veteran home on leave, was a passenger in a Corvette that was chased Jan. 29 last year by Webb at 100 mph before crashing into a wall in Chino, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
On the grainy, 40-second video clip shot in darkness by an area resident, Carrion can be heard swearing at Webb before the deputy tells him, "Get up! Get up!" Webb, who is shouting expletives himself, then shoots Carrion in the chest, left leg and left shoulder as the victim appears to be obeying the order.
Carrion was hospitalized for several days.
Prosecutors said Carrion did not pose a threat to Webb, who they characterized as angry and not in control of the situation.
Defense attorneys said Carrion's hand was near his chest moments before he was shot, giving the former deputy the impression the airman was reaching for a weapon.
Carrion testified during the trial he and the driver, Luis Escobedo, had been drinking at a barbecue in his honor after a six-month tour in Iraq.
Webb did not take the stand during the four-week trial. Three witnesses testified for the defense, including a tactics expert who said the shooting was justified and an alcohol expert who testified about the victim's intoxication level.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5432548
Ivory J. Webb was found not guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm for opening fire on Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion in an incident that was videotaped and broadcast around the world, said Susan Mickey, a district attorney's spokeswoman.
The verdict was returned in San Bernardino County Superior Court after a jury deliberated several hours.
Carrion, an Iraq war veteran home on leave, was a passenger in a Corvette that was chased Jan. 29 last year by Webb at 100 mph before crashing into a wall in Chino, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
On the grainy, 40-second video clip shot in darkness by an area resident, Carrion can be heard swearing at Webb before the deputy tells him, "Get up! Get up!" Webb, who is shouting expletives himself, then shoots Carrion in the chest, left leg and left shoulder as the victim appears to be obeying the order.
Carrion was hospitalized for several days.
Prosecutors said Carrion did not pose a threat to Webb, who they characterized as angry and not in control of the situation.
Defense attorneys said Carrion's hand was near his chest moments before he was shot, giving the former deputy the impression the airman was reaching for a weapon.
Carrion testified during the trial he and the driver, Luis Escobedo, had been drinking at a barbecue in his honor after a six-month tour in Iraq.
Webb did not take the stand during the four-week trial. Three witnesses testified for the defense, including a tactics expert who said the shooting was justified and an alcohol expert who testified about the victim's intoxication level.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5432548
