After deliberating for 10 hours, the jury read the verdict regarding the 23-year old Homewood resident. James E. Mitchell Jr., was then told that he was convicted on an aggravated assault charge, a charge that he illegally posessed a handgun and three charges relating to the stolen car he was driving when he dragged Officer John Wilbur down Fifth Avenue, almost a year ago last June.

However, the jury found Mitchell not guilty of the most serious charge, attempted homicide.

Mitchell still faces a lengthy prison term of 10 to 20 years on the assault conviction, and he could possibly face additional time on the aforementioned charges.

The trial revolved around the events which took place on June 26, 1996, when Wilbur happened upon Mitchell and two of his friends stopped in a car at Fifth and Shady avenues in the East End around 1:15 in the morning. According to Wilbur, he thought that the men were asleep. When he walked up to the car, he saw one of the men, Craig Guest, 19, of Lawrenceville, sit up in the back seat and hide drugs in his mouth. Wilbur then opened the back door, grabbed Guest, and brashly asked him to "spit it out."

At that point, Mitchell drove away... yet because Wilbur's wedding ring caught in the back door as it abruptly closed, the officer could not free his hand. Wilbur then ran a few steps with the car, then jumped onto the back trunk. Unable to keep up with the rigorous motions of the car, Wilbur soon fell, and was dragged along Fifth Avenue. During this, he unholstered his gun and reached up to fire. Guest and another man, Maurice Hall, 20, of Hazelwood, were shot three times each and killed. One of Wilbur's bullets grazed Mitchell's head.

Defense attorney Bill Difenderfer contended throughout the trial that Mitchell never knew Wilbur's hand was trapped in the car door or that the officer was being dragged.

With that ordeal over, Mitchell now faces another trial to begin in the fall -- this time a homicide trial addressing the April 14, 1996 shooting death of Tyrell Hinton, 20, of Larimer.

Visit the OnTV Bulletin Archive.