COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Two men charged in the death of their friend were found not guilty Wednesday.
Jacolby Booker and Zachery Morrison were charged with murder in the death of Antonio Tyler.
Investigators said the three tried to rob a man and a woman at a Marietta apartment complex last May when an officer shot and killed Tyler. Prosecutors argue that because the friends were in the commission of another crime, they are responsible for Tyler's death.
Both already pleaded guilty to charges that can send Booker and Morrison to jail for life, which is why defense attorneys said the trial was a waste of time and money.
The trio reportedly robbed the man and woman inside of their apartment, but the victims escaped as police surrounded the apartment. That's when Tyler, the only one with a gun, grabbed Morrison and held him hostage trying to escape but it didn't work, authorities said.
"At that point and time, I took action to stop the threat and I fired my weapon at him," Marietta Police Department's Eugene Mullis said.
Tyler was killed, and even though the officer fired the shot, Booker and Morrison were charged under Georgia law with felony murder.
Defense lawyers claim the clock stopped when Tyler turned his gun against his friend. They added it wasn't the robbery that caused the shooting, it was Tyler's desperate attempt to escape.
"Tyler brought his death on himself, by himself," defense attorney Phil Holloway said.
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