Not guilty verdict in Jefferson City murder trial

A Cole County jury took about 90 minutes to return a not-guilty verdict in the trial of a Jefferson City man accused of an April 2015 murder in the Capital City.

Paris M. Alexander-Henderson, 26, of 1015 Elizabeth St., was charged with killing Bryant O. Sturkey, 33, in what Jefferson City police said was a dispute concerning other family members.

He had been charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. He was to be released from custody Friday afternoon.

Alexander-Henderson took the stand in his own defense and admitted he did shoot Sturkey but only because he thought Sturkey was going to pull out a gun and shoot his brother, Darnell Parker, who was in the vehicle with him at the time of the shooting.

Alexander-Henderson’s attorney, Public Defender Justin Carver, advised his client tell jurors he never met Sturkey until that night and only knew of him because he had cut his brother’s hair in the past.

Alexander-Henderson said he went to pick up his brother because Parker had called him saying Sturkey was going to harm him because Sturkey had said Parker had “put his hands on his woman.”

Parker, who also testified, said before his brother came over, Sturkey’s girlfriend, Jamie Harrison, had been talking with Parker’s girlfriend about some problems Parker and his girlfriend were having. Harrison went to the apartment where Parker was and tried to talk with him, and the two got into an argument. Parker said it got to a point where he pushed her out the door, and that’s when she went to get Sturkey, who came over and threatened him. Parker went to another neighbor’s apartment, used their phone to call Alexander-Henderson, then went out the window of the neighbor’s apartment and waited until his brother came.

Alexander-Henderson said Parker had told him Sturkey was going to kill him.

Alexander-Henderson said he was starting to get out of his vehicle when he got to Elizabeth Street, but he got back in when Sturkey and Harrison came out of their apartment and came toward the vehicle.

Parker got in, and the two were going to leave when Sturkey and Harrison began arguing with them. Harrison told Parker to get out and fight.

Sturkey eventually came over to the passenger side of the vehicle where Parker was, and according to Alexander-Henderson, he began to punch Parker, possibly two or three times.

As this happened, Alexander-Henderson said he got his gun, which he always kept under his driver’s seat. He saw Sturkey make a motion like he was going to pull something out of his hoody, and that’s when he shot him, firing four rounds, three of which struck Sturkey.

He told Carver he never saw Sturkey actually pull out a gun.

The brothers testified they left after the shooting, going back to Alexander-Henderson’s home on South Brooks Drive in the Westview Heights area. There they talked about Parker taking the blame for the shooting since Alexander-Henderson has a wife and child.

Eventually authorities arrived at the home and arrested the two, and though he initially said Parker shot Sturkey, Alexander-Henderson admitted he was the shooter.

Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson pointed out Alexander-Henderson changed his clothes and washed his hands when he got back to his home in an effort to hide any evidence he was the shooter.

Richardson also had rebuttal witnesses from the Jefferson City Police Department who did interviews with Alexander-Henderson, Parker and others the night of the shooting and found inconsistencies with the testimony offered, including where witnesses had stated Sturkey had hit the vehicle with both fists, not just one.

Richardson earlier noted to the jury that autopsy photos showed no evidence of bruising on Sturkey’s hands that would indicate he had struck something.

Assistant Prosecutor Garrick Aplin told jurors to remember all witnesses, including Alexander-Henderson, testified they never saw Sturkey with a gun that night, and everyone admitted Alexander-Henderson was the shooter.

“Mr. Sturkey didn’t deserve the death penalty for a simple assault,” Aplin said.

“Tank has a gun, and he’s going to kill me,” Carver said in his closing statement. “Those were the words stuck in Paris’ head when he was going over that night.”

There was much talk on both sides of the case about the Castle Doctrine — a legal rule in which a person may stand his ground and apply deadly force against an intruder who intends to inflict serious harm — and whether there was enough evidence to show there was an imminent threat from which Alexander-Henderson was acting to protect himself and his brother.

“In the end, there is no right or wrong magical answer,” Carver said. “In this case, the car can be seen as your castle, and you have the right to protect your castle.”