Nash Man Gets Life for Murder, Kidnapping
Posted March 20, 2008 8:24 p.m. EDT
Updated March 20, 2008 11:02 p.m. EDT
Nashville, N.C. — A jury handed out a life sentence to Nash County man who admitted to breaking into a trailer on the night its resident was shot to death.
Nezar "Sam" Yarborough, 24, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of Derek Thomas Smith, of Sharspburg, on April 17, 2006.
Yarborough's defense attorney conceded that Yarborough and Jerry O'Neil, 22, broke into a Sharpsburg trailer where Smith lived. However, his lawyer argued that Yarborough was being attacked and trying to escape when the gun was accidentally fired.
Smith died instantly when a bullet hit his face.
Jurors also found Yarborough guilty of two counts of first-degree burglary and three counts of second-degree kidnapping. They acquitted him of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
After deliberating for a little under two hours, the jury sentenced Yarborough to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
