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Source: The Lima News, OhioJuly 25--LIMA -- For the casual observer, convicting a man of murder when he wasn't even there and didn't order the killing seemed like a stretch.迷你倉出租But after the jury heard the evidence and a strong explanation of the law's complicity statute, jurors quickly convicted Charles McGuire on Wednesday in the death of a man he sent to rob a family.The jury of seven men and five women took two hours to return guilty verdicts on the charges of murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.Prosecutor Juergen Waldick said he would recommend the maximum sentence of 33 years to life in prison. Sentencing is set for Aug. 28."He's a three-time loser. He has three felony convictions in the past for some violent crimes," Waldick said.Before trial, prosecutors offered McGuire a plea deal that would guarantee he serves no more than 11 years in prison. McGuire told the judge he would take his chances with the jury.During closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors spent a lot of time educating the jury on the definition of complicity under Ohio law."This is the important part," Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Jennifer King said.Complicity in a crime allows a person to be convicted even if he didn't carry out the act, as long as he worked with the other person to commit the crime, she said.In this case, McGuire sent James Gipson to a house on Catalpa Avenue to rob a family on Dec. 27. One of the family members owed a drug debt and McGuire wanted the debt paid plus an outrageous amount of interest.Gipson went to the home with a crowbar and struck two people across the face with it while inside the house. Family members defended themselves and a teenage son stabbed Gipson twice in the back during the struggle with a 6-inch survival knife he had just received for Christmas.Gipson ran out of the house and stumbled a short distance home where he collapsed in his front yard and died from his injuries.Pro儲存倉ecutors asked the jury to find McGuire guilty of the burglary and robbery charges because he sent Gipson to the home. They also said he was responsible for Gipson's death because he set in motion the chain of events that led to Gipson's death.King said it was foreseeable that people in the home would defend themselves against a man trying to rob them especially when he brought with him a crowbar."What happens when someone defends themselves? Someone gets hurt. In this case someone died," King said.McGuire's attorney, Joe Benavidez, told jurors during his closing argument the entire case boils down to the testimony of Gipson's girlfriend, Carrie Lamb. He said she lied and cannot be believed.Benavidez also said his client was a seasoned criminal who would not be so dumb as to set up a risky home invasion robbery."That's chasing bad money. It doesn't make sense," he said. "He's experienced, he's a seasoned criminal. It makes no sense for a seasoned criminal to go and do what happened that day, to set it up."Waldick called McGuire an "urban terrorist" saying he operated as a loan shark and drug dealer who would bully people into paying him extraordinary amounts of interest on debts through the threat of force.Waldick also played off Benavidez's "seasoned criminal" defense saying McGuire knew the system and tried to manipulate police and now the jury by telling lies that were somewhat close to the actual truth but never implicating himself in any of the crimes."That's the best kind of lie to tell when you mix in a little bit of the truth," Waldick said.Waldick also took the time to make sure the jury understood complicity but said it boils down to a simple understanding."When someone dies in the chain of events he set in motion, he is responsible," Waldick said.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) Visit The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) at www.limaohio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉沙田