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Jury unable to reach a verdict on second degree murder in Springfield shooting Report Vermont News Posted 4 hours ago Subscribe Created by Eric Francis Guilty verdict to lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter WHITE RIVER JUNCTION - After deliberating a total of six hours, a Windsor County jury returned a guilty verdict to a lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter against Springfield resident Greg Smith just before noon on Tuesday. Advertisement: Content continues below... Advertise with DailyUV! Smith, who admitted fatally shooting Wesley Wing near Jake's Market on South Street in Springfield on the afternoon of April 18, 2015, will now face a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison when it comes time for his formal sentencing later this year. Prosecutors had argued that Smith drove up and "executed" Wing in broad daylight, firing from his car while Wing was still several feet away from him on a sidewalk but Smith had claimed that he acted in self-defense after Wing reached through the open window of his car and sucker punched him twice before shoving his head into the steering wheel in what he said was an unprovoked attack. Smith, 32, has already spent nearly three years in pre-trial detention since his arrest and he will get credit for that time off of his overall sentence once it is formally imposed. Greg Smith stands as the jury comes back into the courtroom to announce its verdict on Tuesday morning Smith had been facing a presumptive 20-year-to-life sentence if he were to have been convicted of the second-degree murder charge the state had filed against him; however, the foreperson of the jury explained to Judge Timothy Tomasi that the jurors were "unable to decide" on that particular charge and therefore stepped it down a peg to voluntary manslaughter. The announcement stunned members of Wing's family, causing his mother Terry Wing to bolt out of the courthouse moments later saying "Murderer! Murderer!" to herself but the verdict also disappointed Smith's defense team which had argued he'd acted in self-defense when he shot Wing five times at close range. Had the jury entirely agreed with that contention then Smith presumably would have walked out of the courthouse on Tuesday as a free man. Wesley Wing's mother, Terry, doubled over as the jurors announced they could not agree on the second-degree murder charge against Smith With tears streaming down her face, Wing's widow Sheila told reporters the outcome was "just not what I expected." "It's just not the closure that our family has been praying for," Sheila Wing continued. We just expected this to come out differently. Wes was great and we all miss him. He was a great dad, a great husband, a great provider. I just can't say enough about how great he was. He is just deeply missed by all of us." Prosecutors Ultan Doyle and Adam Korn comforted Wing's oldest daughter Brooke and his widow Sheila after the verdict Vermont News can be contacted at vermontnews802@gmail.com
Let me guess; he'll do the minimum, which means time served? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! How in the world does a seven-time felon have ANY credibility with a jury! Well, on the bright side; I guess if someone murders Smith, that person can look forward to a light sentence!
ReplyDeleteHardly justice for family, friends and the community. Fifteen years does not seem just to me.
ReplyDeleteI may be wrong so feel free to correct me. How does a person with multiple felonies even possess a firearm? I thought felony convictions made it illegal to own a weapon. Isn't there a way for the state to try Smith on those charges?
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. They might as well have just slapped his hand and say, "Bad Boy, Don't do that again." the idiots!
Deletethey Fed's should get involved and charge him for the firearm possession,don't leave it to the state
DeleteIs it just me, or is the justice system in this state a complete clusterf**k? I come from the Midwest, and I guarantee Smith would have been doing life in prison YEARS AGO if he were there!
ReplyDeleteIn this case it's not the justice system it's the liberal people that live here and got chosen to sit on the jury, they are the ones who let him off. Now the liberal justice system will not give him the maximum 15 years, they will give him 5 max, and then he sits for 2 more, we can only hope someone on the inside takes him out.
DeleteYou are assuming a lot by saying the jury box was filled with liberals. I agree the judicial system in Vermont is heavily tilted to the left but how do you KNOW how many of the jury members were liberal?
DeleteBy their decision to not give him a second degree murder charge... very clear.
DeleteArgument between he and Wesley's girlfriend, 7 time felon with anger issues, tracked Wesley down, happen to have a loaded gun which he went home to get, went and confronted Wesley, shot him from a car which he could have drove away in and not shoot him, that would be all I would need, 5 minutes of deliberation Guilty!
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure this is the fault of the left. Don't liberals hate guns? Seems to me that gunning someone down, and then claiming self-defense is a "conservative thing." Saw it many times in Florida; I actually knew George Zimmerman AND Mike Dunn. They were both conservative, AND BOTH COMPLETELY NUTS! The more "conservative" jury in Orange Co. found Zimmerman NOT GUILTY, the more "liberal" jury in Jacksonville found Dunn GUILTY. Illinois is considered a Blue State, and Smith would been toast there. So it may be a "Vermont thing" more than anything else.
DeleteApparently Roger believes everything comes down to "Liberal" vs. "Conservative". He doesn't seem to believe some people think for themselves without considering their political ideology.
DeleteLiberal "thinkers" not politics, never said anything about politics you did.
DeleteIt really isn't "left vs. right," it's right vs. wrong. Neither side is very good at seeing the difference these days! I don't believe this jury was THINKING at all!
DeleteSo anytime someone says or does something you don't agree with, it's because they're liberals, Roger? My goodness, you need to accept the fact that people have different opinions about a number of things in life and it isn't always about being Liberal or Conservative.
DeleteAnybody think that Maybe his Attorney was "good" at his job and got Paid very well from funds that Smith or his higher up scum had "stashed".
ReplyDeleteThis whole state is totally fu**ed up because of the liberals who have taken over in the last 80 years. Don't get me started on the judicial system.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:32a.m. I believe his attorney was a woman and she was his Public Defender. She must be very proud of herself this morning.
ReplyDeleteWhether any of us like it or not, a criminal defendant's right to an attorney is found in the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which requires the "assistance of counsel" for the accused "in all criminal prosecutions." This means that a defendant has a constitutional right to be represented by an attorney during trial.
DeleteSorry about the gender mixup.
DeleteI just had an issue with the attorney being "very well paid" from funds that Smith had stashed.. A public defender is paid by us…the taxpayer. Smith did not pay a dime to his attorney! We all footed the bill as we will for his incarceration. Only wish he had gotten more time.
Deletenow have the Feds go after him on the gun charges,that should get him some real good prison time
ReplyDeleteRoger is an old fool. He loves throwing around his anecdotal thoughts.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the jury! A friend of mine who longed to serve was rejected time after time in the voir dire screening. He finally asked a lawyer friend, "How come I never get selected?" The lawyer told him, "Take a look at some of the people who do get selected." My friend told me, "I did, and you know, they seemed pretty slow?"
ReplyDeleteMy mom was juror on a case where the woman picked up a hitchhiker on a bitterly cold night. He made advances on her, and she ordered him out of the car. She got to feeling sorry about him being out there with no other car likely to come, so she turned around and picked him up again-- and he raped her. The jury acquitted him. My sister said, "Mom! You said she deserved to be raped????" She served on another one where they convicted a kid whose lawyer portrayed him as being led astray by a bad companion, and she felt bad about the conviction. Defense lawyers like to get people like her. So do prosecutors who think they can out-argue the defense.
In defense of jurors, my hat is off to them for not trying to dodge it like some people I know. They perform a noble service.
Chuck, first you say jurors are stupid, then you praise them for showing up. Not sure which is worse; smart people who don't show up, or stupid people who do! There's an old saying: Never underestimate the power of idiots in large numbers. This time there were only twelve.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Delete@9:10 ... I don't always agree with Chuck but disparaging his mother was completely unnecessary and the administrator should delete your comment. I accept the fact he allows people to post anonymously but in doing so, he only encourages people like you to thump your chest and spout off while hiding behind a curtain.
DeleteRay, my mother asked that we not roast her at her memorial service. However, if you had read her book, "They Do It In Church," you would realize she was not everybody's typical mother. What is one family's disparagement is another family's method of saying, "I love you." I promise not to disparage your mother!
Delete6:46, I wasn't say jurors are stupid, I was just reporting what my friend observed-- that lawyers like to pick out a certain type. Lawyers want to be able to persuade juries; they probably feel threatened by people they feel might be more intelligent than is desired. I did commend everybody who serves; they are true citizens.
DeleteVermont gun laws suck.
DeleteI appreciate your outrage, but Vermont is ranked the safest state. Conversely, metro Chicago has the most restrictive gun laws in the country and the highest violent crime rate. Vermont gun laws are a non issue. It's the revolving door judiciary system. A system of prosecutors, judges, and parole boards appointed by the state government YOU voted for! As said so many times before, you got the government you deserve. Happy now?
DeleteDon't hold your breath waiting for Emmons and Forgites to express condemnation of a system they're part & parcel to. They know exactly how stupid selfish liberals are. Matter of weeks before you read of them pandering to prison families by detesting incarceration of inmates out of state. Yet you'll still reelect them, wont you?
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/crime-and-corrections/public-safety
It was a JURY TRIAL! They were NOT appointed by the government! The judge, whether conservative or liberal, DID NOT render the decision in this case! It really is pathetic to hear conservatives talking the same tired knee-jerk nonsense about government; every time you open your mouths you reveal how little you know!
Delete@ 10:26, Smith, a seven time Felon was walking the streets, actively selling drugs because a state appointed parole board allowed him. Smith had no fear of possessing a firearm and drugs because his state appointed parole officer ignored his responsibility to perform a routine search of his domicile. The jury's decision was formulated by lack of a compelling case on the prosecutor's part. Another political appointee. Noting the incompetent prosecutor, the judge has the option of invoking judgment notwithstanding the verdict regarding murder vs. manslaughter.
Delete12:03 PM, Wing might have taken some of that info about Smith into consideration before he approached anybody close to Smith.
Delete7:14,what does Vermont gun laws have to do with this case at all ?
ReplyDeletesmith was a convicted felon,it is against the law for him to own a firearm,so i'm guessing he didn't go thru legal channels to get his,i bet it came from 1 of his drug dealing buddies,now the state or feds should charge him for being a felon in possession of a firearm,that should get him plenty of jail time
Precisely because he was a felon in possession of a gun, I posted that if the law stated the first purchaser of a gun is responsible for its use during its entire existence, Smith probably would not have been able to get one. He committed one of the 81% of homicides in this country that are done with a gun somebody else bought.
ReplyDeleteIf such a law were in effect, whoever bought that weapon ten years ago would have been in the dock with him.
The conversation took off from there.
So far, Anonymous has not responded to my question about how he would feel if he knew he could still buy and use all the guns he wants to, but he'd have to make sure nobody else ever laid their hands on any of them. I'd like to know.
Ok Chuck, I'll respond again. As I said before, IT'S A STUPID IDEA! All you really want to do is intimidate honest citizens by making them accountable for the actions of criminals in the future. I doubt it is even Constitutional to do so. A person who sells or gives away a gun can ALREADY be held accountable for knowingly giving it to someone who shouldn't have one, so your point is mute.
DeleteI believe the word you're looking for is "moot,"not mute.
DeleteI believe "mute" should be in quotes because that is the word you are quoting from the comment.
Delete8:55, you STILL haven't answered it entirely. True, if you give or sell a gun to someone who shouldn't have one, you can get in trouble, but if you legally sell your gun to someone who loses it to a thief who pawns it to a shop who sells it to a woman whose 14-year-old uses it to shoot up his school, how would YOU feel if the cops arrested you as the original purchaser of a gun who was legally responsible for it during its entire existence-- especially if you KNEW you'd be responsible and that the only way to end that burden would be to destroy the gun rather than to dispose of it in any other way? That's the question.
DeleteFOR THE LAST TIME, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT. I WOULD FEEL AS THOUGH MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS HAD BEEN VIOLATED, BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN. GUILT BY ASSOCIATION IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. YOU LOSE, END OF STORY.
DeleteBut how are they violated? You can buy all the guns you want! And there's nothing in the constitution that says you have a right to sell, lose, pawn, give away or lend a weapon to a person unworthier than you. It seems you have an issue to resolve. So, by exercising personal responsibility from keeping your death-dealing weapon out of unworthy hands, you could help lower our annual homicide rate by as much as 10,000 victims. How does that make you feel, 5:46 (aka 8:51)?
DeleteI'm not 5:46 but am I understanding you right by saying that you want a law that I can never sell a gun that I own to a trustworty friend because someday it might get in the hands of a criminal that uses it to kill someone and I could get charged for that?
Delete5:46 here, and YES HE IS!!!!! He says this all the time, as well as his desire to LEGALIZE HEROIN!!!!
DeleteThanks 5:46..chances of a law like that are slim to none and slim left town.
Delete5:57, that's right. The notion behind it is that a firearm is not a typical appliance, but designed to kill. Just as somebody who uses knives in her business (say, a butcher) could be prosecuted for letting a child get injured by playing with one of his tools, a person who willingly lets her weapon out of his possession is criminally irresponsible.
DeleteSuch a law would not prosecute a person who knows that the weapon he is giving away to a friend will never, ever be used criminally, so it would be completely legal to get rid of one in any way anyone wants to. I don't see people having a problem with that.
It would only be the people who judged wrongly who would be punished. They'd be punished because they did not exercise personal responsibility. (I think that's a big selling point.)
I think a lot of people will be happy with the idea of destroying a gun they don't want any more. They'd be very much like King Arthur ordering Excalibur to be thrown into the lake. Don't let it fall into unworthy hands.
Out of curiosity, was anyone who is posting comments on this article on the jury?? If not than how about giving some credit to the jury for making the verdict they came up with. They had all the info that was provided by the prosecutors and evidently felt 2nd degree murder charges weren't warranted and came up with a lesser charge.
ReplyDeleteIMO both the victim and the shooter are at fault and that seems to be what the jury thought also.
What do you need a hand gun for? Scared or something. Want to target practice, use rocks it is much more difficult.
ReplyDeleteAustralia's government bought 650,000 guns from their citizens and destroyed them. Gun crime there plumitied. Good idea for this country.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how they did it in Australia, but it would have to be voluntary in the U.S. That would only eliminate guns that were no longer wanted, or were beyond repair. The gun buy-back programs I've seen here usually get nothing but junk!
DeleteThe high capacity magazine ban in CT and NY prohibited sale and required registration of existing magazines. The results frightened law makers. An estimated < 1% of owners complied. It painted a stark impression of what a gun ban would generate.
DeleteOur country has never been so divided, intellectually, idealistically, morally and economically. A civil war is inevitable. You can only redistribute wealth and assault the value system of moral peoples to a point. Seizing their last means of liberty would be the final straw.
Just curious, 8:44, when you say "redistribute wealth, are you talking about the 1.5 trillion that the wealthy just got? You know, the money which leaves the rest of holding the bag for the debt and defecits? Surely you don't mean the chump change that the poor, disabled, and elderly get, because it's not enough to make a difference in YOUR life! Sort of like the Trump tax cuts for middle class! Moral peoples? Oh, you mean like Roy Moore? YEAH, I THOUGHT SO!
DeleteI'm curious as to whether people cling to guns because they don't know how to participate in civil society? In all my years in a mainstream political party, I've only met one member who sports all the NRA colors-- and he is open to taking further steps to prevent more mass shootings.
ReplyDeleteIs it that the Wayne la Pierre faction can't get beyond the level of supposed individual omnipotence represented by a weapon? Did they never learn that people can be protected by cooperating with others to study problems and devise agreed-upon solutions?
Chuck, had you never met a Jewish, Slavic, or Scandinavian person that endured Nazi occupation? I have. Several as a matter of fact. The first steps were propaganda, registration all firearms, then to later seize them. Unarmed, the citizens were helpless to prevent the holocaust. Neville Chamberlin's "agreed-upon solution" didn't work out so well, did it? Are you so naive as to believe in 200,000 years of existence as a species, we have evolved beyond such atrocity in only 3 generations? Man's capacity for violence is never to be underestimated. History has taught us those with the swords or guns make the rules. An educated, moral, armed populace is necessary to insure the liberty of all people. Yes Chuck, freedom tragically has a price. But judging from the millions of people waiting to immigrate here, it's better than the alternative.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Jesus would have done if he had an AR-15 available to him during that time period.
DeleteUsing Chuck's theory, let's imprison the parents of the people committing the gun crime. Just to be sure, let's imprison the close relatives too, since they should have known what the perpetrator was about to do. Those families will keep a closer eye on the nuts in the family if the whole clan goes to prison if one steps out of line. Apparently no one is responsible for their own actions. Someone else is always to blame and must be held accountable. If the original gun owner must be responsible for all actions of those who hold that weapon later, than it seems only reasonable that the parents and close relatives be held accountable for the nuts in the family tree.
ReplyDeleteGun owners ought to be responsible for their own action in disposing of a gun they don't want around any more. That type of owner is the one responsible for four-year-olds killing people.
ReplyDeleteMy proposal makes the gun owner responsible for the gun, not the person who steals it or accepts it as a gift and then pawns it five years later.
How much trouble is it to make a gun unrecognizable and unusable as a weapon? Not much. And we're talking about reducing homicides by at least 40% and ideally 81%, which is the number committed with a gun that somebody else used to own.
Well, it takes quite an unusual mind to equate the government of the US with a totalitarian state! I posted elsewhere wondering whether the gun crowd doesn't have an unusually large-- and really unusually large-- number of members who simply do not know how to participate in a democratic society? They always talk about the government seizing their guns, but you don't see them working out issues in the towns they live in.
ReplyDeleteHere in Springfield, quite a few of them simply complain about everything, and often the proposals they recommend for good governance are wildly unrealistic, almost always a variation of "government is bad for you."
Chuck used the term "wildly unrealistic"! Minutes after he hatched is own statistics.....
ReplyDeleteHow does gun control differ in Chester Chuck?
ReplyDelete