Sean Lahman

@seanlahman

Jalen Everett was acquitted Wednesday of the triple homicide on Genesee Street — the second time he has been tried for the crimes.

Everett's earlier second-degree murder conviction in the August 2015 killings was tossed out by County Court Judge Douglas Randall after allegations of juror misconduct.

The jury took little time Wednesday finding Everett not guilty. It began deliberations in the morning and reached a verdict before 2 p.m.

As the verdict was read, family members of the murder victims cried out in anguish, expressing both surprise and outrage at the jury's decision. The reaction on the other side of the court room was ecstatic, with some friends and family members of the defendant bolting from the court, unable to contain their emotions.

"I'm so happy that justice did prevail," said Everett's mother, Leslie Gordon, outside the courtroom. "People know that this was not my son. My son worked. He was an average kid, but he did not deserve this type of treatment. They know that they (police) had picked the wrong person."

Gordon was a constant presence in the courtroom through both trials, along with a strong contingent of Everett's friends and family.

Everett was accused of being one of three people in a car that drove past the Boys & Girls Club on Genesee Street in August of 2015 and sprayed a large crowd of bystanders with gunfire. Three young men — Jonah Barley, Raekwon Manigault and Johnny Johnson — died in the shooting. Three more were injured.

Another man, Johnny Blackshell Jr. was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to life in prison. A third defendant, Michael Mathis, is to be tried separately in June.

Everett was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of second-degree assault. Everett's defense team rested its case Tuesday without calling any witnesses.

During closing arguments, both the prosecutor and the defense said the case against Everett was based on circumstantial evidence. Assistant District Attorney Perry Duckles said there was eyewitness testimony, debit card records, and cell phone analysis that proved Everett had been in the car when the shooting occurred.

Defense attorney Clark Zimmermann said that testimony from the witnesses was unreliable, and that none of the evidence supported the allegations against Everett.

Anita Barley, whose son Jonah was murdered, said she was prayerful after hearing the verdict, and hoped that the defendant would take advantage of the second chance he was given.

But her husband was less sympathetic, saying he remained convinced that Everett had participated in the crime.

"This jury didn't get to see all of the evidence," Richard Barley said, referring to information that had been ruled inadmissible. "I blame Judge Randall. Maybe he has a grudge against the DA's Office. He always seemed to side with the defense."

A jury in November convicted Everett of second-degree murder, deciding he was involved in the 2015 drive-by shooting that left three dead in the Boys & Girls Club parking lot. However, after the verdict, a juror claimed that another juror had made racial comments and, during the trial, discussed information that the jury had not been allowed to hear.

Randall decided the claims of the juror were credible, and overturned the guilty verdict in December.

The District Attorney's Office filed an appeal seeking to reverse that decision, although Duckles said Wednesday afternoon that it was unclear whether that appeal would have any impact on the verdict in this retrial.

Zimmermann and co-counsel Emily Fusco said they believed that if they had this jury at the first trial, that case would have ended with an acquittal as well.

"I think the issue last time was we had someone who came into the trial with a bias," Fusco said. "This time the court did a great job of screening potential jurors and making sure we had a pool of people who came in here with an open mind and didn't have any preconceived notions and didn't have any prejudices."

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com

Includes reporting by staff writer Gary Craig.