A Fayette County jury is deliberating the fate of a Mississippi man accused of shooting and killing a 22-year-old man in Lexington nearly two years ago.
The Bobby Hubbard Murder Trial, 24, concluded Thursday with closing arguments from his attorney and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Hubbard is charged with murder for allegedly killing Doricky Harris in a Coolavin apartment on West Sixth Street in September 2022.
Both sides spent about 20 minutes restating their cases to the jury. Whitney Kirk, representing Hubbard, said her client acted in self-defense and should not be convicted of murder.
“As strange as it may seem, sometimes it’s not illegal to kill someone,” Kirk said. “Our legal says there are certain situations where you can do this. You are protected by the law.”
Kirk presented his case by describing the situation Hubbard faced the night of the shooting. Harris’ girlfriend, Jada Richardson, testified that she called Hubbard and told him that Harris had assaulted and shot her that day. Richardson allegedly asked Hubbard to pick her and her son up and take her to her sister’s house in Georgetown, fearing for her safety.
Richardson told Hubbard to come armed, Kirk said.
When Hubbard arrived, he was told Harris was armed and dangerous, according to Kirk. He went to Richardson and Harris’ apartment to retrieve baby formula and a car seat while legally armed with a gun.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nikolas Fegenbush previously said Hubbard knocked on the door several times and got no response. When Hubbard opened the door, he was reportedly confronted by Harris, who jumped out and scared Hubbard. That’s when Hubbard allegedly fired his gun and fled the scene.
“The Commonwealth wants all of you to believe that just opening that door with your gun drawn is inherently aggressive,” Kirk said. “However, avoiding violence is not initiating violent aggression. He was trying to prevent anyone from getting hurt.”
Kirk asked the jury to find his client not guilty of murder.
“I deeply believe he was justified in using self-protection, but if you all disagree and think his conduct was a gross misrepresentation, then he is still not guilty of murder,” Kirk said. “Instead, he should be convicted of reckless homicide.”
Accusation: ‘He lied to you.’
Mary Tobin, representing the attorney’s office, used a slideshow to point out irregularities in Hubbard’s account of the incident during closing arguments. The slideshow contained communications between Hubbard and family members, audio recordings of police interviews after Hubbard was arrested, and even Hubbard’s own testimony from when he took the stand on Wednesday, where he admitted to getting facts wrong in interviews. previous ones.
“He is a kind and polite young man, but he lied to you,” Tobin said. “He told you lie after lie because he wants to get out of this.”
Tobin also stated that Hubbard’s actions were not self-defense and were not intended to protect Richardson. Tobin highlighted previous testimony describing Harris as a non-violent person.
“This fear that was instilled in Jada and Diamond and everyone was so scared and everyone was talking about it in the apartment complex, where did that come from? It wasn’t from Jada or Diamond, they didn’t say that. That’s from Mr. Hubbard,” Tobin said.
Tobin asked the jury to find Hubbard guilty of murder.
“I urge you not to let the defendant get away with it,” Tobin said. “They’ll tell you you need to look at recklessness (homicide) and second-degree manslaughter — it’s not a mistake that he went there, so that’s not applicable.”
Murder is a capital crime in Kentucky and carries a punishment from at least 20 years in prison to life imprisonment.
