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Jury acquits teen accused in death of police officer
Jurors attribute surprising verdict to conflicting testimony; 
Gavin killed during chase

By Caitlin Francke and Peter Hermann
Sun Staff
Originally published Jan 20 2001

A teen-ager who killed a police officer when he crashed into a 
patrol car during a high-speed chase was set free yesterday after 
a Baltimore jury acquitted him of all charges - a verdict that 
stunned police, prosecutors and even the defendant's mother. 

The jury deliberated about four hours before clearing Eric D. 
Stennett of murder, attempted murder and vehicular manslaughter 
charges, even though his own lawyer admitted that Stennett was 
driving the speeding Ford Bronco that killed Officer Kevon M. Gavin. 

"I'm speechless," said Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg, 
who prosecuted the case in Baltimore Circuit Court over the past 
two weeks. 

Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris called the case a 
"no-brainer" for conviction. He said the not guilty verdict 
felt like "a kick in the stomach." 

Even Stennett's mother, who leaped from her seat in the 
courtroom pew to hug weeping family members when the verdict 
was announced, acknowledged that she was surprised that he 
had not been convicted on some charge because police pulled him 
out of the car that crushed Officer Gavin. 

"He was there," said Stennett's mother, Margaret Beady. But, 
she added, "I don't believe my child was driving." 

The officer's widow, Lisa Gavin, was so distraught she was 
escorted out of the back of the courthouse to avoid a media 
throng. She had to drive to New York yesterday to attend a 
funeral for her late husband's grandmother, who had died of cancer. 

Jurors declined to be interviewed at the courthouse, but some 
later said prosecution witnesses gave contradictory testimony 
that undercut the case. 

Stennett was expected to be released from the city jail last night. 
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Read the entire story at:
http://www.sunspot.net/content/cover/story?section=cover&pagename=story&storyid=1150540207909
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