Legal expert Mark Lindquist responds to jury finding Auburn officer guilty of murder

Auburn police officer Jeffrey Nelson was found guilty on Thursday for the murder of a 26-year-old man in 2019, a jury determining that the killing was not justified under Washington state law.

Nelson was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault in Jesse Sarey’s death. The court set Nelson's sentencing for July 16.

The jury was hung Tuesday and Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps sent the group back to deliberations. Jurors returned with a verdict on Thursday.

Nelson was attempting to arrest Sarey outside of an Auburn grocery store on May 31, 2019, when he shot him once in the torso and again seconds later in the head after Sarey had already hit the ground. Nelson claimed Sarey attempted to reach for his gun and the knife in his utility vest, but a witness to the scuffle picked the knife up off the ground and placed it on top of a nearby vehicle.

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