Ames not guilty in feud slaying Jury agrees shooting was self-defense
John Ames found not guilty of murder in shooting death of his neighbor Perry Brooks
By BILL FREEHLING
Date published: 9/17/2005
Draping his arm around his son's shoulders and holding his wife's hand, John F. Ames walked out of Caroline County Circuit Court yesterday a free man.
A six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for five hours yesterday before finding Ames not guilty of murder in the shooting death of 74-year-old Perry Brooks in April 2004.
"It was a reasonable verdict," defense attorney Craig S. Cooley said outside the courtroom. "Mr. Ames will go with his family and live the rest of his life in peace."
Stoic for most of the week, Ames smiled broadly and embraced his family shortly after the verdict was read about 2 p.m. He spoke briefly with a swarm of reporters outside, thanking his attorneys and family for their support.
"I'm relieved," said his wife of 36 years, Jeanne Ames.
Others weren't so pleased--including Annette McDonald, a friend of the Brooks family.
"He won't get his judgment here," McDonald said. "But he'll face it one day. Because he's got to face his maker."
Evelyn Brooks, the widow of Perry Brooks, shared a few words before leaving the courthouse.
"I really don't know how I feel," she said. "I've been through so much. Time will take care of a lot of things."
Evelyn Brooks has filed a $10 million wrongful-death suit against Ames. It's scheduled for trial Dec. 5 in the same Caroline courtroom where the criminal case played out this week.
Ames--a 60-year-old bankruptcy lawyer, accountant and cattle farmer--admitted to shooting his longtime nemesis on his Holly Hill Farm off State Route 207 near Bowling Green.
But Ames said it was an act of self-defense, testifying that his neighbor tried to attack him with a hickory stick while trespassing on Holly Hill. Ames said he had disputed with Brooks for 15 years and feared his neighbor.
Brooks came to Holly Hill to retrieve a bull that had strayed off his property. Michael Beazley, who was with Brooks that day, said the vegetable farmer never swung the stick before Ames fired. He said Brooks was shot several times again while he lay helpless on the ground.
Caroline Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Latney argued that Ames planned to kill Brooks, waiting for his neighbor to come onto the property before confronting and shooting him.
But one jury member, who asked to remain anonymous, said reasonable doubt surrounded the prosecution's case.
Date published: 9/17/2005
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