Man acquitted in shooting death

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Updated: January 23, 2012 3:50AM

A Lake Superior Court jury on Friday acquitted a Gary man of voluntary manslaughter in a 2007 homicide after about 2 hours of deliberations.

The jury acquitted Richard Glenn Edmonds Jr., 37, in the shooting death of Samuel Elder, 38, who died shortly after 7 p.m. Dec. 9, 2007, on the second-floor landing at 1750 Mississippi St.

Jurors convicted Edmonds of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a class D felony punishable by a maximum three-year sentence.

Defense attorney James Thiros said Edmonds never denied shooting Elder, but asserted he was acting in self-defense after Elder ran up to him, claimed to be a police officer and then struggled with Edmonds after producing a handgun.

Edmonds pushed the gun away from his face and drew his own gun, for which he had a valid license to carry.

Elder was shot in the neck.

Sentencing on the marijuana possession charge is Oct. 19 before Judge Diane Ross Boswell.