☛ TS Officers sorting through incidents that led to Fortuna man's death 12/26/2007
☛ ER Questions remain in Fortuna homicide; probe continues 12/26/2007
☛ TS Preliminary results point to gunshot wounds as cause of death 12/29/2007
☛ TS Week in Review 12/30/2007
☛ TS Chief says charges will be filed in Fortuna shooting 1/01/2008
☛ ER Arrest warrant to be issued in Fortuna homicide 1/2/2008
☛ ER FPD requests arrest warrant for shooter in homicide 1/12/2008
☛ ER Christmas Eve killing leaves one man on suspicion of homicide 1/23/2008
☛ ER Fortuna man charged for involvement in Christmas Eve homicide 1/24/2008
☛ TS Fortuna suspect surrenders in Christmas Eve death 1/24/2008
☛ TS Shooting suspect pleads not guilty 1/26/2008
☛ TS Fortuna man pleads not guilty in fatal Christmas shooting 4/25/2008
☛ ER Christmas Eve shooting death case heads to trial 4/29/2008
☛ TS Judge denies motion to dismiss Dowdy case 6/14/2008
☛ ER Jury selection in Christmas Eve homicide to start Monday 6/14/2008
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☛ TS Fortuna Christmas murder trial begins 7/08/2008
☛ ER Justifiable self-defense argued 7/7/2008
☛ ER Witness testimony continues 7/8/2008
☛ TS Evan Steed testifies about father's death in Fortuna murder trial 7/09/2008
☛ ER Fortuna murder case continues 7/9/2008
☛ TS Scene of shooting described in murder trial's third day 7/10/2008
☛ ER Steed died from gunshot, specialist says 7/10/2008
☛ TS Forensic pathologist testifies in Dowdy trial 7/11/2008
☛ TS Jurors hear Dowdy's post-shooting interviews 7/12/2008
☛ ER Dowdy admits shooting man, but didn’t intend to kill 7/12/2008
☛ ER Department of Justice witnesses to testify today 7/14/2008
☛ TS Witnesses: Testimony in Dowdy trial differs from statements 7/15/2008
☛ ER Dowdy says he wasn't shooting to kill David Steed 7/16/2008
☛ ER Testimony in Christmas Eve murder trial to conclude Thursday, jury to start deliberations Monday 7/16/2008
☛ TS Dowdy's former friend testifies in shooting trial 7/16/2008
A former friend and roommate of Thomas Dowdy Jr. testified in his second-degree murder trial Tuesday that Dowdy acted on his own volition when he allegedly stole a trailer filled with firewood, sparking a confrontation that ended in the fatal Christmas Eve shooting of David Steed.
Amber Herman, 20, testified she spoke with Dowdy days before the Dec. 24, 2007 shooting about a trailer filled with firewood, which Steed had placed for sale on a roadside near his residence. Herman told jurors she asked Dowdy not to steal the trailer, but “he just sorta snickered and said, 'Don't tell my parents.'”
In interviews taken after the shooting, 22-year-old Dowdy told police three weeks before the shooting Herman had asked him to steal the firewood for her mother, who had recently run out of wood. When he returned with the wood, Dowdy told police Herman had changed her mind, and “acted like she was joking.”
Herman testified she never told Dowdy her mother needed the wood, and the trailer belonged to her father, Kenneth Hughes -- a close friend of Steed's -- who then notified Steed of the theft.
☛ TS Dowdy takes the stand in Fortuna murder trial 7/17/2008
☛ TS Dowdy testifies in Christmas Eve murder trial 7/18/2008
☛ ER Closing arguments in Christmas Eve murder trial slated for Monday 7/18/2008
☛ ER Final arguments made in Fortuna Christmas Eve murder 7/21/08
☛ TS Dowdy case sent to jurors 7/22/2008
☛ TS Dowdy acquitted of murder
Thomas Dowdy Jr. was acquitted of second-degree murder in the Christmas Eve shooting death of David Steed on Thursday, but the court declared a mistrial on the lesser manslaughter charge due to a hung jury.
The foreman told the court the jury was deadlocked 11-1 on the manslaughter charge after voting on the matter four or five times during more than three days of deliberation. Sources told the Times-Standard the 11 jurors voted not guilty on the manslaughter charge, but prosecutor Ben McLaughlin and Dowdy's attorney, Blair Angus, would not comment on which way the vote fell.
McLaughlin did say that the one opposing juror refused to engage in deliberations.
”My understanding is that when they got to the manslaughter, this juror had his or her mind made up and would not deliberate,” McLaughlin said.
☛ ER Dowdy’s future remains unclear after mistrial declared
Update: ☛ ER Dowdy pleads guilty to misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter 7/29/08
Thomas Dowdy Jr. has been released from the Humboldt County jail or will be released later today with time served. He has been in custody since late January for the Christmas eve 2007 murder of Fortuna resident David Steed.
The jury found him not guilty last week of second-degree murder but was deadlocked regarding the voluntary manslaughter charge. The judge declared a mistrial last week because of that deadlock.
The family of Steed was visibly upset in court today.
☛ TS Dowdy to be released today
Thomas Dowdy Jr. will be released from the Humboldt County jail today after entering a plea of no contest to manslaughter at 2 p.m.
For the misdemeanor crime, Dowdy was sentenced to time already served without probation, and is to be discharged after he is processed at the jail, where he serves 190 days since January, following the Christmas Eve 2007 shooting death of Fortuna resident David Steed.
During his trial, Dowdy faced second-degree murder charges after fatally shooting Steed twice -- in the back and elbow.
After two weeks of testimony, the jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder, but deadlocked on the manslaughter charge, 11-1 in favor of Dowdy's innocence.
☛ TS Dowdy: No contest to manslaughter 7/30/08
☛ ER Fortuna Christmas Eve murder suspect freed 7/30/08
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