A Canton man wiped a tear from his one eye Thursday afternoon after hearing that a Summit County jury had found him not guilty of murder and other charges related to the November shooting of an Akron man.
The jury deliberated for about six hours before announcing they had a verdict about 3 p.m.
“We’re pleased with the verdict,” said Noah Munyer, who represented Buchanan with attorney Jacob Will. “We believe justice is served.”
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O’Brien, who handled the verdict reading for Judge Alison McCarty (who was out of town), said Buchanan will be released from custody for this case.
Munyer said Buchanan has a probation violation related to the murder case that will need to be addressed prior to his release.
Defense attorneys, though, said Buchanan, who was partially identified because he has one eye, wasn’t the shooter. They said there are lots of questions that remain unanswered, such as what the disagreement was between Hall and Thomas and the extent of their relationship.
“We think this case might be more about what we don’t know,” said Jacob Will, who is representing Buchanan with Attorney Noah Munyer.
Will, Munyer and Buchanan’s family members, were pleased with the result.
“He’s looking forward to returning to his family and to beginning the process of putting his life back together,” Munyer said.
