NEWTON, N.C. (AP) - Jurors are expected to begin deliberating the guilt or innocence of a Florida man accused of murder in the death of a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper killed during a traffic stop.
Multiple media outlets reported prosecutors and defense attorneys finished closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of Edwardo Wong Jr. of Ormond Beach, Fla. Wong is accused in the death of Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr., who was shot in 2008 during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Canton.
Defense attorney Mark Melrose acknowledged that Wong shot Blanton three times. But Melrose said Wong lacked the premeditation and deliberation necessary for a first-degree murder conviction.
Catawba County Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Poovey said he would instruct the jury Thursday morning, clearing the way for deliberations.
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