SCOTTSVILLE – Bolstered by claims that he acted in self-defense, Jackie Mutter was found not guilty Thursday of murder.

A jury of eight women and four men in Allen Circuit Court deliberated for 31/2 hours at the end of a four-day trial before acquitting Mutter, 65, of Scottsville, in the 2017 shooting of Wendell Jackson, 38, of Scottsville.

Mutter appeared to show no emotion as Allen Circuit Judge Janet Crocker read the not guilty verdict aloud.

“Mr. Mutter is remorseful for what really amounts to a tragedy for everybody involved,” Mutter’s attorney, Ken Garrett, said after the trial.

Jackson’s uncle Dennis Jackson called the verdict a “travesty of justice” as he left the Allen County Justice Center.

Mutter testified in his own defense, recalling under questioning from Garrett that he and Brandon “Speedy” Taylor traveled to Wendell Jackson’s home on Hade Bell Road on Jan. 2, 2017, to collect $300 that Jackson owed him for a pickup truck that Mutter had sold to Jackson.

The group met in Jackson’s garage, where Mutter recalled talking with Jackson for about 10 to 15 minutes as they stood on opposite sides of the truck’s tailgate.

Mutter said he was not sure what happened to provoke the gunfire, but he testified that Jackson pulled a handgun from his waistband and began shooting at him, wounding him in the right arm near his shoulder.

“I don’t know why he pulled a gun out and shot me,” Mutter said on the witness stand. “I felt scared, I didn’t know what was going on. … I moved to get my gun and shot back. I didn’t intend to hurt him whatsoever.”

Mutter demonstrated pulling his handgun from the back waistband of his pants, racking the slide, pointing the weapon downward from above and shooting across the bed of the truck.

Jackson was wounded three times in his left leg, breaking the tibia and fibula, and once in his right thumb. The fatal shot entered Jackson’s back near his left armpit and exited through the right side of his chest.

Jackson also suffered a cut on his left pinky finger, but the origin of the wound was undetermined.

A firearms expert testified in the trial that Jackson’s gun, which was found at his feet, misfired three times. The revolver contained two casings and three live rounds.

During his closing argument, Garrett put forth a theory that Jackson was shot first in the leg and then his body rotated as he fell to the ground, putting his back in the line of fire.

Garrett argued that the placement of the wound on Jackson’s right hand indicated he was holding a gun when he suffered the wound, buttressing his contention that Mutter acted in self-defense.

“It was return fire or be killed,” Garrett said during his closing argument. “(Mutter) had no duty to retreat, but he had a right to stand his ground.”

On the witness stand, Mutter said after the exchange of gunfire, he and Taylor left the garage and traveled to Mutter’s house. Later that day, Mutter’s daughter, Jamie Miller, treated his gunshot wound.

Allen County Commonwealth’s Attorney Corey Morgan got Mutter to admit during cross-examination that he did not call 911 or get medical treatment for his gunshot wound and didn’t notify law enforcement of the shooting.

Mutter testified he did not talk about the incident with Taylor at any point afterward, and denied giving Taylor a pair of boots or a gun to dispose of after the shooting.

Mutter’s son-in-law, Steven Miller, testified earlier this week that he burned a pair of boots and possibly a shirt that Taylor brought to him the night of the shooting. Miller pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence.

It was Miller’s disclosure of his actions to police in 2019 that resulted in Mutter’s arrest on a murder charge

Mutter said he “did not have a clue” that Jackson was dead when he left the garage and testified that a Ruger P95 pistol collected from Mutter was the gun he used in the shooting.

Morgan questioned Mutter about a relationship he had with Jennifer Anderson, and her occasional involvement with Jackson, but Mutter testified Anderson never came up during his discussion with Jackson on the day of the shooting.

During his closing argument, Morgan stressed that Mutter’s behavior after the shooting – not contacting authorities to report the shooting, not getting medical attention for his injury and not discussing the incident with Taylor afterward – should arouse the jurors’ suspicions.

Morgan noted that Mutter did not bring up any self-defense claims on the two occasions he made statements to police, and Taylor changed his account of his involvement in what happened during multiple police interviews and at trial.

“It’s very hard to believe that Speedy and Mr. Mutter didn’t talk about what happened,” Morgan said in his closing argument. “Speedy had ample opportunity to contact police to tell the truth, but it sounds like there was a story put together to try to mislead the jury and make sure Jackie Mutter, the father of his girlfriend, doesn’t go to prison. … We really don’t believe there was any self-protection here. If there was, it went too far.”

Garrett said after the trial that he believed the physical evidence, particularly the layout of the crime scene and the pattern of blood spatter around Jackson’s body, provided the most persuasive argument to the jury.

Mutter’s time on the witness stand also benefited his case, Garrett said.

“I think his ability to recollect affected the jury’s perception of his credibility,” Garrett said of Mutter after the trial.

While Mutter avoided conviction in the homicide, he remains in Allen County Detention Center pending the resolution of a separate criminal case charging him with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, convicted felon in possession of a handgun, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering the welfare of a minor.

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.