JACKSON, MI - A jury has acquitted a 17-year-old charged with attempted murder for shooting and injuring another teen July 3 in Jackson.

Maurice Knighten's lawyer, George Lyons, said Knighten shot Jay Reed Jr., 17, in self-defense. Reed and others chased Knighten down an alley and "jumped him," Lyons said Friday, May 1. "If a guy ever put a healthy down payment on a bullet, (Reed) did."

The jury found Knighten guilty of using a firearm to commit a felony, which, for an adult, carries a mandatory two-year prison penalty.

Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain is scheduled to sentence Knighten on May 13.

At the end of the March trial, Jurors could not reach a conclusion on whether Knighten was guilty of a "lesser included offense," attempted involuntary manslaughter, Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka said. The prosecutor's office could retry Knighten on that offense. "We are going to have to review the case and sit down with the victim," Jarzynka said Friday.

He said he and his office respect the jury's decision on the attempted murder charge.

Knighten, then 16, was arrested in late July. Charged as an adult, he was accused of attempting to murder Reed near the King Recreation Center, 1107 Adrian Ave., the night of an Independence Day fireworks show at Cascade Falls Park.

Lyons said Knighten was armed because Reed was "beating up" Knighten's brother.

In the alley, Reed had his hand in his pocket and Knighten thought he had a gun, Lyons said. Reed did all he could to initiate the contact; Knighten did all in his power to avoid it, Lyons said.

At a preliminary examination in September, Reed said he had heard Knighten wanted to fight him after Reed "got into it" with Knighten's younger brother about a BB gun. Reed chose to confront him. "I asked him did he still want to fight me," Reed said. "He said this ain't the right time, something like that, and that is when I jumped at him and he shot me."

The bullet hit Reed in the stomach and came to rest in his back. He spent several weeks at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing and underwent four surgeries, according to prior testimony.

Knighten fired at him while the two were less than 5 feet from each other, a district judge noted.

Lyons said Knighten is now free from jail. He is back in school and working at a restaurant, his lawyer said.