COLUMBUS, Ohio - The jury will begin deliberating Friday in the trial of a man accused of killing two Westerville police officers.
Quentin Smith is charged with the murders of Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli.
They were shot to death while responding to a 911 hang-up call in February of 2018.
On Thursday, jurors heard closing arguments in the case. Prosecutors told the jury while this was a difficult case to hear, it isn't a difficult one to decide.
Even the defense concedes Quentin Smith killed two police officers.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien reminded jurors of the testimony of Quentin Smith's wife Candace, who said after beating her, he grabbed two guns.
And when Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli knocked at their door, she says Smith answered, with the guns within reach.
"He cracks the door, she, knowing he's in range, knowing he has a gun, she pulls the door back a little bit more so they know what's going on when they ask, we got a hang-up call here. She said 'he just beat me and he has a gun,'" O'Brien said. "What did Candace say she heard as she stepped back before shots were fired? 'Don't do it.' The officers commanded the defendant, 'Don't do it.' Then he grabbed his gun and shot Officer Joering first."
"You have to decide this case based upon the evidence, not based upon emotion, not based upon sympathy, not even based upon revenge," said Smith's attorney Frederick Benton. "This is not a case where you're called upon to decide whether you like Quentin Smith."
Smith's attorneys don't dispute he shot the officers. They tried to raise doubt about whether he did it purposely.
"The prosecution wants you to believe this shooting was the product of a purposeful killing," Benton said. "This was an unexpected panicked, and confusing unfolding of events. We don't know, of all the shots that were fired, we don't which shot was fired first or who fired the first shot. We don't know the order of the shots. All we know is there were multiple shots fired by three individuals."
"All of that was created by that man sitting right there," said Prosecutor James Lowe. "Not by the police officers, not by Candace. By Quentin Smith, the defendant. He created that rapid succession of events and the chaos and panic. Instead of letting officers arrest him for domestic violence, he grabbed a gun and he murdered in cold blood, two officers just doing their job."
The jury returns Friday morning to begin deliberations.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
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