Tony Baird found not guilty in bystander Jerrie Ross' death after alleged exchange of gunfire here
A jury on Thursday found a 31-year-old Topeka man not guilty of all counts on charges linked to the 2020 killing of Jerrie Lyn Ross, 62, a bystander found dead after an exchange of gunfire along S.W. Gage Boulevard.
Jurors reached that conclusion after hearing testimony indicating that Tony Reece Dante Baird fired shots in self-defense, which is legal, after being shot at by other people.
Casey Overbey, the sister of Jerrie Ross, expressed dismay Friday that Baird was a free man even though her sister lost her life due to a bullet from his gun.
"I understand it was self defense, but he should have gotten something for shooting at the car after it left the gas station," she said. "There was no reason to keep shooting once they went down Gage Boulevard. Had he not continued to shoot my sister would still be here."
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said Topeka police were dispatched late Aug. 5, 2020, to the site of a shooting outside the Valero gas station, 1161 S.W. Gage Blvd., where officers learned a man had exited a black SUV and shot at a red vehicle that was leaving the gas station.
During a neighborhood canvass, police discovered the 62-year-old Ross dead with a gunshot wound to the neck next to her home at 1190 S.W. Gage, Kagay said.
Shawnee County District Judge Bill Ossmann shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday read the verdict, which said Baird had been found not guilty of one count each of premeditated first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, aggravated assault and the criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle.
A 10-man, two-woman jury reached a verdict after about five and a half hours of deliberation. The announcement of the verdict drew emotional responses from supporters of both Baird and the prosecution.
Baird's supporters had gained 1,060 signatures on a change.org petition in which they said they were seeking to vindicate him and seek an "external review" of the case.
The site said people two teenagers Baird didn't know shot at him after he "looked at them funny" at the Valero station, and Baird returned fire.
The occupants of the other vehicle later served as witnesses against Baird, according to text that accompanied the change.org petition.
"The occupants of the other vehicle were not only too young to legally own the weapons they were firing (one of which came back as stolen according to TPD), they also admitted in court testimony to sitting on the window ledge of the car to fire over the roof at Tony, wiping the car down with bleach after the shooting and getting a hotel room in the female driver's name to 'hide out in' for a few days," it said.
It added: "Tony, who acted out of self-defense and could legally carry a firearm, would be the sole person charged with a crime of any kind. This rash and negligent decision by detectives of the Topeka Police Department would be the first of many injustices experienced by him during the course of this case."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka man found not guilty on all counts in 2020 shooting death of bystander
