NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of two men accused of killing a 12-year-old honor student. Both men were found not guilty of first degree murder.
The verdict was read around 10:30 a.m., just over an hour after resuming deliberations Friday. The jury also deliberated for about four hours Thursday before being sent home for the day.
Both Cedric Peppers and Justin Howard were found not guilty on all counts.
Mikia Woodland was killed in July of 2009 at her family's home on Maury Street in the Napier area of Nashville. Mikia was a student at Dodson Elementary School and loved to sing and dance.
Prosecutors said Peppers, Howard and three other people forced their way inside the home and fatally shot Mikia as they tried to rob her father.
She heard the commotion and came out of her room to see what was going on. Police said the men shot Mikia several times as she tried to run away.
"One said, ‘Get back in your room and shut the door,'" said Mikia's grandmother Shannon Hooten." I grabbed my phone to call 911. In the next eight seconds, all I could hear was gun fire."
Mikia was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
During closing arguments Thursday, attorneys for both Peppers and Howard said their clients were innocent.
The jury was instructed to return two separate verdicts – one for Peppers and one for Howard. The state had asked for convictions of first degree murder on both men.
"It really hasn't hit me yet because I'm trying to keep myself together for my grandchildren, but it's hard," Mikia's other grandmother, Sarah Woodland, told NewsChannel5 in 2009. "I'm just going to miss my grandchild."
Metro officers canvassed the neighborhood with fliers, asking for the public's help to find the killers.
It wasn't until May 2010 when five people were charged. The men arrested were Raphael Turner, 20, Justin Howard, 22, Jeffrey Dale Foxx, 20, and Cedric Peppers, 26. Ronald Deshawn Roseman was charged in Juvenile Court because he was 17 years old at the time of the shooting.
Roseman pleaded guilty to second degree murder in January 2012. He was sentenced to 20-years in prison with no chance for parole.
Turner, Peppers and Foxx all pled not guilty. Foxx has since admitted his involvement and testified against both Howard and Peppers.
Howard's attorney argued that some witnesses were only testifying against his client for self-preservation and that there was little evidence linking him to the crime.
During closing arguments, prosecutors told the jurors all five men should not only be held accountable, but be found guilty.
If convicted, Howard would have faced up to 51 years in prison. Peppers would have faced life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Foxx and Turner both still face charges and trials of their own.
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