Jury Deliberates Murder Trial Verdict

By: Megan Johnson - Email

Updated: Tue 5:57 AM, Nov 13, 2012

Attorneys made their closing arguments in the Arkanjelo Kot murder trial early Monday afternoon, and the jury spent the rest of the afternoon deliberating a verdict for the charges of first degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

But Kot will have to wait until at least Tuesday to hear those verdicts.

Both Kot's attorney and the Hall County Attorney told jurors that with the charge of first degree murder and Kot's admission that he fired his gun, it boils down to his intent when he pulled the trigger.

Kot says he was accosted by Walid Omar Aden at a Grand Island Pump and Pantry on July 14, 2010. He says Aden threatened him and verbally attacked him.

Hall County Attorney Mark Young says Aden's death was a premeditated act because Kot returned to his own vehicle, retrieved a gun he legally owned, loaded it, and went back to the van Aden was riding in to confront him.

The defense argued that Kot got his gun out for protection, fearing for his life after being wounded in a shooting nearly a year before that killed his cousin. The defense says Kot wanted to better identify Aden and the other two men in the van for police, so he went back to talk to them. They say Kot then shot randomly into the van when he saw Aden move in the back seat and hear Aden say he was going for a gun.

Young says that if Kot had only gotten into his car and driven away it would be a different story. He says Aden's verbal attack on Kot was wrong, but not grounds to kill him.

Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours Monday. They'll reconvene Tuesday morning. The judge told jurors they can find Kot guilty of first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, or not guilty.

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