Three separate Sacramento Superior Court juries convicted two defendants of first-degree murder and acquitted a third in the Oct. 18, 2010, shooting death of cab driver James Walker in the parking lot of a North Highlands apartment building
Two of the juries came back Monday with the guilty verdicts on Jermaine John Campbell, 21, and Jonathan Steven Hudson, 21, in the killing of the 54-year-old cabbie. Today, the third jury acquitted Antoine Lee Taylor, 22, of all charges.
Along with the first-degree murder conviction, Campbell's jury found that he committed the murder at the Hillsdale Village Apartments during the course of a robbery. The special-circumstance allegation is likely to result in a life term with no chance of parole when Campbell is sentenced April 2 by Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan.
Hudson's jury gave him a huge break when it did not sustain the special-circumstance robbery allegation on him -- at the same time it found him guilty of a separate robbery count. At his sentencing on April 26, Hudson is likely to receive a sentence that could give him a chance of parole while he is still in his 50s.
Although Taylor was acquitted, he has since picked up a new charge of possession of a dirk or dagger in jail while awaiting his trial. His next court date is Monday.
Taylor's lawyer, Michael Bowman, said he thought the jury "reached a fair verdict based on the evidence they had" on his client.
"I'm quite proud of the jury," Bowman said. "In these situations where the crime is so tragic, I think it's easy to lose sight of individual responsibility. I think the jury made the right decision."
Deputy District Attorney Kevin Greene declined to comment.
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