A Buchanan County jury is now deliberating in the punishment phase, after finding a man guilty of murder committed at the age of 16.
The panel earlier found Elijah Pickett guilty of murder and five other charges in the home-invasion robbery that claimed the life Brian Ullmer in August, 2011.
Ullmer and others were held at gunpoint during a robbery at his home at 214 North 16th. Witnesses say Pickett shot Ullmer three times at point-blank range as Ullmer was lying on the floor of the home.
“Sixteen or sixty, you have to be held accountable,” said Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins in closing arguments Wednesday.
Scroggins told the jury a person “should be able to be safe in their own home.” He described Ullmer as a the father of a 13-month-old child, as well as a stepfather, an uncle, a brother and a son. He argued that Pickett must be held responsible for Ullmer’s death.
Pickett was one of five men charged in connection with the robbery and murder. Two have pleaded guilty and been sentenced, one awaits trial, and one was found not guilty by a jury last month. Pickett was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, first degree burglary, and three counts of armed criminal action.
The six-man, six-woman panel found him guilty as charged.
Scroggins told the jury that the evidence supporting the six counts was not contested or contradicted. Defense lawyer Theresa Lininger listed called that assertion into question in her closing argument. She pointed out that the gun used to kill Ullmer was never recovered, and that three of the eye-witnesses were not able to identify Pickett.
Lininger also attacked the credibility of several of the witnesses who testified in the trial, including Kasey Hall, who pleaded guilty to his role in the killing. She also pointed out that two of the women in the house at the time of the robbery were described as “hysterical” at the time. And, Lininger said, family members conducted their own investigation into the killing before law officers urged them not to.
Buchanan County Circuit Judge Patrick Robb gave the case to the justy just before noon on Wednesday.