A man died after being shot in the throat. Pasco jurors found this suspect innocent

Almost one year after a 29-year-old man was killed inside a Pasco home, a jury cleared the shooter’s roommate in the murder.

Jerry D. Porter Sr., 31, was convicted of first-degree rendering criminal assistance for helping the killer in the aftermath.

But the Franklin County jurors, who spent just over a day deliberating, acquitted Porter of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

Defense attorney Peyman Younesi hugged his client in the courtroom after the verdicts were read.

Younesi had argued that Porter was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there was “no evidence of aiding or acting as an accomplice” in the Dec. 6 shooting of Javier J. Flores and Briselda Carrazco.

Flores died after being shot “point-blank in the throat.” Carrazco was fired on three times at close range and survived.

Anthony Hamilton, 30, pleaded guilty in late October to second-degree murder with a gun and second-degree assault.

His sentencing is set for Dec. 10.

He faces 21 to 29 years in prison, with prosecutors planning to recommend a 25-year term. Five years of his sentence will be mandatory for the gun.

Shot in the neck

Porter’s trial started Nov. 18.

He did not take the witness stand, but Hamilton was called by the defense to testify about what he saw Porter do that night.

The two men were Kennewick roommates at the time of the fatal shooting.

Prosecutors alleged that in the days before, Porter sent a Facebook message to someone at the West Yakima Street home about a $1,000 debt.

Porter later told investigators he had gone to the home twice that day to visit his cousin, and did not see Flores.

It was on his second visit that Hamilton joined him.

The men were arguing when Hamilton pulled out a gun and shot Flores. Hamilton was running away when he suddenly stopped, turned and shot at Carrazco.

Dispatchers on the 911 call could hear someone in the background yelling, “I’m going to die,” and, “My leg hurts.”

Hamilton claimed in his plea statement that Flores pulled a knife on him during the argument, so he shot the man in the neck and the hit Carrazco in the butt.

The one count that Porter was convicted of — rendering criminal assistance — was for helping Hamilton leave the scene before police arrived and then avoiding being arrested.

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 4:53 PM.