Baushlyon Richardson was found not guilty of murder Friday by an Ector County jury after four days of trial and a plea of self defense.

Richardson, 26, was charged with shooting Pablo Jimenez to death and injuring Jovanie Bernal and Jesus Garcia on Aug. 18, 2012, during a fight in the parking lot of 10 Sports Bar and Grill, which is in Music City Mall. The jury also found Richardson not guilty on two charges of aggravated assault. The jury deliberated just under five hours.

Richardson bowed his head after the verdict was read, before he would return to the Ector County Detention Center to be processed out of the system and set free.

“He was really speechless, and I think overcome with grief at the loss of his friend, and joy, in that he didn’t think he was a murderer and the jury agreed,” said Richardson’s defense attorney Jason Leach after the verdict was handed down. Leach added that he hoped his client can “get this behind him and go on and prosper” after more than a year and a half in jail.

Throughout the trial, the main point at issue was whether Richardson was defending himself when he shot into a crowd of people that included the two injured and one killed.

The hallway in the mall and the parking lot were described as “chaotic” just before the shooting, something defense attorney Leach tried to emphasize to the jury to show Richardson’s state of mind and that he was scared for his life.

Jimenez’s loved ones left promptly after the trial ended, some of them in tears.

Meanwhile, Richardson’s loved ones exchanged hugs in the hallway outside the courtroom.

“I’m very happy,” said Charles Smith, Richardson’s father, who came from Dallas. “I prayed this would happen.”

The not-guilty verdict represented the first such defeat for District Attorney Bobby Bland in a murder trial. Bland said after the verdict he accepted the jury’s decision and felt he prosecuted the case the best he could.

“I was upset by the verdict, but I knew this could happen,” Bland said. “Anytime there are multiple people in fights . . . the jury could find self defense.”

Richardson’s witness testimony brought out new facts. Richardson said he didn’t go out to his car to get his gun, contradicting previous testimony, and instead it was his friend, Alvin Russell, who brought it to him just 45 seconds before the shooting.

In the state’s case, Bland had a number of witnesses who not only said that Richardson went to get his gun, but also said he was angry before the shooting because he got kicked out of the sports bar where he was occasionally a bouncer.

While Richardson said Bernal had a knife, none of the witnesses called by Bland said anyone but Richardson had a weapon before the shooting.

When Odessa Police Department Cpl. Kevin Chance was testifying, however, Leach was able to question him on the finding that Bernal and his friends would often go to bars for the purpose of starting fights, something Bland did not introduce as part of his evidence, which Leach criticized him for in closing arguments.

“You ought to at least be able to admit the facts that hurt your case,” Leach said. “And if not, you have to ask why.”

Bland said he is OK with the facts of the case, but said Leach glazed over Richardson lying on the stand.

“(Richardson) told the most cockamamie story you could tell up there and it was tailor-made for that (jury) charge,” Bland said. “None of this adds up because he’s lying.”

Leach, on the other hand, said while the prosecutors want jurors to not consider circumstances, the circumstances color the entire situation.

“Circumstances, despite what the state has argued, matter,” Leach said. “The charge tells you what matters is the defendant’s state of mind in that position.”

Notorrey Washington, a friend of Richardson’s who said he was there the night of the shooting, said he knew his friend was innocent and relieved the jury determined so, too.

“I wasn’t confident — you just hope and pray for the best,” Washington said. “But it’s not confidence.”