MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) – A Mobile man charged with murder in a fatal road rage case has been found not guilty.

Trenton Thornton was charged with shooting and killing Patrick Edwards in February 2020.

This is the third time Thornton has been tried after his Two previous trials ended in a hung jury. Thornton’s attorney, Chase Dearman, says Thornton was emotional after receiving a “not guilty” verdict in the courtroom on Friday.

“Of course he was very excited and of course so was his family after going through three tests; “You can only imagine what a thrill that was,” Dearman said.

Prosecutors alleged that Thornton shot and killed Patrick Edwards in 2020 after what they called a “minor traffic collision.” Thornton’s other attorney, Dennis Knizley, argued that his The client acted in self-defense after Edwards chased Thornton down a dead-end street. in the Birdville community.

“It was late at night and he ended up in a dead end and tried to merge with other cars and turn off the lights. Then the people in the other car got out and approached his car,” Knizley explained. “Thornton thought the man was about to hurt or kill him and given all the circumstances of a high crime area, he felt he had no choice but to defend himself and that’s what he did.”

Thornton testified that Edwards got out of the car and verbally threatened him.

“Trent’s testimony was that the man said ‘make one more move and I’ll kill you,’ and there was a 911 call where part of this was being recorded,” Knizley said.

Knizley says the audio from that 911 call became clearer than during the first two trials and was consistent with Thornton’s claims.

“We heard the ‘make a move’ part and it certainly supported Trent’s claim that the man said ‘I’ll kill you’ and I think this was the determining factor in this case for the jury,” Knizley added.

At his final trial, a woman who was dating Thornton at the time of the shooting testified for the first time. Dearman says his testimony clarified why Thornton was in the neighborhood in the first place.

“I think his testimony had some impact,” Dearman said.

In the first trial, Thornton testified, but in the second he did not. This time, he took the stand again, a strategy Knizley says the defense relied on.

“In self-defense cases, many times you have to sue the accused,” Knizley said.

Although FOX10 News was unable to speak with Patrick Edwards’ family after the verdict, FOX10 News spoke with his brother, Azelle Edwards, while the jury was still deliberating Thursday.

Edwards says the last few years have been arduous.

“I wanted to say that we have been trying to get justice for my brother for the last four and a half years. “My family has been having a really bad time with this,” he said.

“These cases can be very difficult,” said Mobile District Attorney Keith Blackwood. “This verdict does not diminish our team’s fight to seek justice. “We respect the jury’s decision and will continue to fight for justice for all victims of crime.”

In 2022, a jury found Thornton guilty of shooting into an occupied vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident. Thornton was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, but was only required to serve two of the 10. He has since completed his sentence.

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