Verdict reached in Spooner’s Wis. homicide case

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee County prosecutor says a verdict has been reached in the case of a 76-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his teenage neighbor after accusing the boy of stealing from him.

John Henry Spooner is accused of killing 13-year-old Darius Simmons last year.

Defense attorney Franklyn Gimbel acknowledged that his client killed Darius that morning. But he says the question was whether Spooner intended the shot to be fatal.

The prosecution and defense rested their cases Wednesday morning. Spooner declined to testify.

As prosecutor Mark Williams returned to the courtroom after lunch Wednesday he told reporters a verdict had been reached. If the jury convicts Spooner, the trial will immediately move into a second phase to determine whether he was mentally ill at the time of the shooting.