OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Tucker Richard was found not guilty in the shooting death of his stepfather Scott Blake, which occurred on Jan. 6, 2023. He left the Chautauqua County Jail Tuesday as a free man.

MAYVILLE – Tucker Richard left the Chautauqua County Courthouse on Tuesday a free man.

At 11:30 a.m. a jury found Richard not guilty of both second-degree murder and the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Scott Blake.

As soon as the verdict was announced by the jury foreman, Public Defender Nathaniel Barone hugged Richard. Audible gasps and cheers could be heard.

Judge David Foley cautioned everyone from further outbursts and those in attendance quieted down. He thanked members of the jury for their service. There were six men and six women, along with two female alternate jurors.

Richard had two family members in the courtroom – his grandmother and a great aunt. Both were overcome with emotions and declined to immediately make a comment. Judy Richard, his grandmother, hugged Richard as she began to weep.

On Jan. 3, 2023, Richard, who was 18 years old at the time, shot and killed his stepfather Scott Blake in the head with a shotgun while at their home, 2256 Willard St. Ext. in the town of Ellicott, not far from the Jamestown city line.

The prosecution argued that his actions were intentional but the defense said it was self defense.

Barone thanked members of the jury for finding his client not guilty on both charges.

“Justice is what it’s all about. It’s about the system, it’s about the system working,” he said.

Barone noted how Richard, who is now 20, has a new lease on life. He had been facing 25 years in prison to life if he was found guilty of second-degree murder.

“But for the jurors putting in the effort and the work and decision coming out as it did, he would have never had that second chance,” Barone said.

The trial began Oct. 21 and lasted for 10 days, plus three days of deliberation. The prosecution had 15 people testify, while the defense had Richard’s grandmother Judy testify on his behalf. She was not permitted in the court until after she had testified in the stand.

There were two members of Blake’s family in court Tuesday, a sister and an ex-wife. They appeared angry with tears in their eyes and began speaking to District Attorney Jason Schmidt and other members of his staff following the verdict.

As they exited the court with Schmidt, they said they weren’t interested in commenting at that moment.

Two of Blake’s sons had been in court during the trial but they live out of state and apparently were unable to return as Tuesday marked the fourth week of the trial.

Schmidt said he was extremely disappointed in the verdict.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat this. … I’m personally devastated about this. I feel as though I’ve let down the family, the law enforcement community,” he said.

Schmidt talked to the jurors about their decision afterward, but isn’t sure what else could have been done.

“I’m always trying to learn from these verdicts in speaking with jurors after a trial because it can give you some insight that sometimes you don’t have when you’re a participant in the process where you can lose perspective. But even after talking to the jurors, I was surprised where their analysis took them,” he said.

According to Schmidt, the jurors said they wanted to know more about Richard’s background and relationship with his stepfather, something the court would not have permitted to be shared.

“The expression is ‘the prohibitive value would not have outweighed the prejudice.’ There’s evidence that is always going to be excluded to safeguard the defendant’s rights,” he said.

The Post-Journal/OBSERVER spoke with four jurors inviting them to comment on their decision. All four declined, except for one that just said “I’m just glad it’s over.” The other jurors had exited the court before being approached.

This is the first murder trial Schmidt tried since being elected district attorney in 2020.

Before the trial began, Schmidt noted that both his office and the Public Defender’s Office proposed various plea deals to avoid a trial.

“Here we couldn’t bridge that gap,” he said.

Still, he remains disappointed.

“I believed in the case. I believed in the evidence and the integrity of the investigation. We believe the theory of the case that we presented to the jurors is exactly what happened here. The fact that we have a not guilty verdict here doesn’t make me change my view of the case. It just makes me question what I could have done better to have gotten a conviction,” he said.