Kori Muhammad trial: Jury reaches verdict for mass shooter who killed four
Kori Ali Muhammad, who went on a deadly shooting spree in downtown Fresno in 2017, was found guilty of killing four men and could face the death penalty, a Fresno County jury decided on Wednesday.
The jury convicted Muhammad of first degree murder in the death of David Jackson, 58, who was fatally shot on April 18, 2017 outside of Catholic Charities on Fulton Street. Muhammad’s two other victims that day were Mark Gassett, 37, and 34-year-old Zackary Randalls.
Muhammad was found guilty of second degree murder for the killing of security guard Carl Williams III, 25, at a Motel 6 in central Fresno five days earlier.
The jury also found him guilty of four counts of attempted murder, discharging a gun into a home, and being a felon in possession of gun.
The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for more than three days this week.
But the reading of the verdict was not without a few hiccups. There was some confusion about whether the jury had found Muhammad acted with premeditation on the attempted murder charge.
When Judge Jon Conklin asked the jury if that’s what they agreed to, one juror said no.
The jury was sent back to the jury room where they discussed it and returned with a finding of no premeditation on the attempted murder charge, said Richard Beshwate Jr., co-counsel for Muhammad.
Prosecuting the case was Kelly Smith, deputy district attorney.
Death penalty?
The case now moves on to the second phase of the trial: determining if the 41-year-old Muhammad was sane at the time of the murders and if he should receive the death penalty. The penalty phase begins Monday.
Throughout his trial, Muhammad never denied killing the men.
He told police in an interview that he was angry about feeling disrespected because he was black and vowed to take out his revenge on white men.
His defense attorneys, Beshwate and Antonio Alvarez, argued that Muhammad was not thinking clearly during that period of his life. They said he has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, delusions and hearing voices.
If the jury decides Muhammad is guilty by reason of insanity, he will be placed by the California Department of State Hospitals into one of its facilities for the mentally ill. He will remain there for the rest of his life.
However, if the jury determines Mohammad was sane, they would decide whether he should be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.
Family members of the victims regularly attended the weeks-long trial. At times, crying could be heard coming from people sitting in the audience. It was difficult for some to watch the surveillance video from the Motel 6 shooting.
In it, Muhammad is seen drawing his .357 revolver and firing several rounds at Williams, who staggers backward then falls to the ground.
One witness described how Muhammad casually came up on Pacific Gas & Electric employee Randalls and shot him several times as he was sitting in a company truck. Randalls later died at the hospital.
Throughout the trial, Muhammad was reminded by Judge Jon Conklin not to be disruptive.
For the most part, Muhammad kept quiet and the only disruption came when he would ask the judge’s permission to leave the hearing and return to his jail cell.
The Muhammad trial was one of several court cases interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most court activity was suspended on March 23 to prevent the highly contagious virus from spreading.
The jury had deliberated for one day before the court closure began. But the court’s presiding judge allowed the jury to continue deliberating during the court closure. They returned to deliberate on Monday after a week off.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 5:44 PM.
