Ward guilty of two counts of capital murder
A Limestone County jury returned two guilty verdicts Friday morning in the Decedric Deshun Ward capital murder trial. Ward was found guilty of one count of capital murder during robbery in the first degree and of one count of capital murder shooting from an occupied vehicle. Limestone County Circuit Court Judge Chadwick Wise immediately sentenced Ward to two life sentences with no possibility of parole.
Ward was on trial for the 2016 shooting of Jason Ender West, 18, of Madison at the Sonic restaurant on County Line Road in Madison. He and accused co-conspirator Trevor Cantrell were both charged in West’s murder.
The jury was made up of seven women and five men with five of the jurors being African American. The jury heard three days of testimony – all from witnesses called by the state. Limestone County District Attorney Brian C.T. Jones called more than two dozen witnesses, laying out a clear picture of what happened at the parking lot of Sonic on Dec. 26, 2016.
Witnesses described the scene at Sonic about 3 p.m. when Ward and Cantrell arrived at the Sonic and met with the victim. After hearing a pop, multiple witnesses described seeing a gold sedan flee the scene and finding West on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest from which he died while en route to the hospital.
The jury heard from several detectives from the Madison Police Department who worked the crime scene and conducted the murder investigation. The jury also heard from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, including Dr. Valerie Green, who conducted West’s autopsy, as well as a firearms expert who concluded that the bullet removed from West matched the RG .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol located inside Ward’s bedroom.
The shell casing found inside the Nissan Maxima driven by Ward during the crime also matched the gun.
Ward’s defense team attempted to cast doubt on the Madison Police Department in not obtaining the surveillance video taken from Sonic’s security system. Detective Michael Enfinger testified to the contents of the video and explained that an error in the download led to the footage being lost. Despite efforts made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Quantico, Va., the data could not be recovered.
The most compelling evidence came from the videotape of Ward as he spoke to Madison Police detectives about his involvement in the crime. He confessed to shooting West after robbing him as West attempted to buy prescription Alprazolam (Xanax) in a planned exchange at the Sonic with Ward and Cantrell.
The jury was given the case after the defense rested without calling any witnesses. The jury could have considered the charge of murder or felony murder in the first count of the indictment. After a short time of deliberations Thursday evening, the jury asked Judge Wise if they could continue Friday morning. After deliberating less than an hour Friday morning, the jury reached their verdicts.
“We are extremely pleased with the jury’s verdict. This was an emotional and difficult case for them to hear. The jury listened diligently and considered the facts that were presented to them. On behalf of my office and the family, I want to thank them for their service to our community. I hope this verdict gives the victim’s family a measure of comfort as we prepare for the next trial in April,” D.A. Brian C.T. Jones said. “I think this verdict and the sentence of Life Without Parole sends a message that Limestone County will not tolerate this type of behavior and I hope that this serves as a deterrent to those who would prey on victims in our community.”
Maureen Mack, mother of Jason West, spoke shortly after the verdict.
“It is a victory,” she said. “We’re really grateful to the efforts of the jury, Brian Jones and the entire district attorney’s office, the investigators at the Madison Police Department, especially Mike Enfinger and Lamar Anderson. Tremendous efforts were made. It’s a lot of years coming, but I feel that the jury made the right decision. The evidence is really hard to sit through, as a family, but it is really important for us and demonstrate that Jason was my son. We loved him very much.”
“When this happened, multiple families were destroyed. If you were watching, the defendant’s parents were just devastated. None of this had to happen, which is just so, so sad,” she said. “The jurors worked very hard. We feel that they made the right decision. They came to the right verdict. We’re really grateful for their service. It’s a long week to sit in a jury and we are thankful for their attention, they asked smart questions and listened to testimony. We’re just grateful to them and especially the District Attorney’s office who has kept us in touch throughout this entire process. “
The family of Jason West will be back next month as the capital murder trial of Trevor Cantrell is scheduled to begin on April 18.