People v. Kiyon Twyman
Mar 28, 2016OUTCOME: Acquittal
From: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-mother-son-murder-acquittal-2010-encanto-park-2016may28-story.html "In this case, a jury found that a 26-year-old man, who was indicted by a grand jur ... y three years ago, was not guilty of murder and robbery charges stemming from the killing of Dillon Christopher Patterson. A defense lawyer in the case said jurors took the time to deliberate the evidence carefully, and returned with a decision that was both fair and just. 'It was a righteous verdict,' said Wil Rumble, a deputy public defender. 'They absolutely got it right.' []Patterson stumbled out of a public restroom at Marie Widman Memorial Park in the Encanto neighborhood of southeastern San Diego. He was bleeding from a stab wound to his upper back and cuts to one of his hands when motorists found him in the street in front of the restroom. They called 911. He died in an ambulance on the way to a hospital. According to court documents filed by the prosecution, witnesses said Patterson indicated that “a black guy stabbed him in the park” and that he had been robbed. Investigators never found his missing cell phone. What they did find, however, was a library card inside the bathroom with Patterson’s DNA on it. Police were led to the suspect, who lived just a few blocks away from the park, by running the bar code on the card. They searched the suspect’s home and found a pair of Nike Air Jordans. Patterson’s blood was found on the top of one of the shoes. None was found on the soles. The suspect, Kiyon Twyman, told investigators at first that he didn’t know anything about Patterson’s death. Later, he admitted he walking into the bathroom that day and saw Patterson, a white man he had never seen before, crawling on the floor. He said Patterson reached out to him with a bloody hand. He denied having anything to do with the stabbing, explaining that the left the bathroom and went home after he saw the victim on the floor. He said the library card, which he had obtained only eight days earlier, must have fallen out as he left. The defense noted in court documents that the defendant had no visible injuries when he was photographed less than 48 hours after the stabbing. No blood was found on his clothing, except the Nike shoe. Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey said that in addition to the DNA on the shoe and the library card, there was witness testimony pointing to the defendant’s involvement in the stabbing. Last year, the first jury to hear evidence in the case was unable to reach a unanimous decision. At one point, the jurors were divided 11-to-1 in favor of finding the defendant guilty. The second jury was unanimous: 12-0. Not guilty. The defendant was ordered released from custody in March. 'Our burden is (to prove a case) beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest burden there is,' Harvey said in an interview. 'The jury just felt that we didn’t meet that burden and we’ve got to respect their verdict.'"
