Jury finds Harris guilty of murder, 3 other counts

A jury found a Cape Girardeau man guilty of second-degree murder and three lesser counts after deliberating for more than six hours Thursday.

The jury convicted Malcolm Harris, 26, of fatally shooting Domorlo McCaster, 28, in the back of the head as they and two other men sat in a GMC Envoy in a driveway in a Cape Girardeau neighborhood May 14, 2016.

In addition to second-degree murder, the 12-member jury found Harris guilty of armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence.

Judge Benjamin Lewis read the verdict amid tight security. Numerous law-enforcement officers were stationed in the courtroom in Jackson, which was crowded with relatives and friends of the victim and the defendant.

Lewis warned the crowd outbursts from the audience would not be tolerated.

“I know no matter what happens, somebody is going to be unhappy,” he said before reading the verdict.

Lewis set sentencing for 2 p.m. Nov. 17.

Relatives and friends of the victim cheered the verdict after leaving the courtroom.

The victim’s father, Eugene Lester Jr. of Cape Girardeau, welcomed the verdict.

“Justice. That’s it. That is all I wanted,” he said.

He added the guilty verdict will get Harris “off the street.”

Lester said his son was caught up in the violent drug culture.

“My son made a choice to get in that vehicle,” he said.

“I expected my son to die by the bullet,” Lester said, but he added his son didn’t deserve to be shot suddenly in the back of the head.

Lester said at one time, he, too, was involved with illegal drugs.

“I got out by the grace of God,” he said.

He said young people routinely carry guns and are willing to use them.

“These children see the fast money and want to take it,” Lester said.

“It is a black-on-black crime,” he added.

While he feels justice has been served in this case, Lester said, “nothing can bring back my son.”

Lester said Harris, who was dressed in a suit, showed “no remorse” throughout the trial.

“You can dress a devil, and he is still a devil,” Lester said.

Prosecutors sought to convict Harris on a first-degree murder charge.

In closing arguments in the three-day trial, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh told the jury, “This case is about the straightforward execution of Domorlo McCaster.”

Limbaugh said, “There was no accidental shooting here.”

Limbaugh said “no one shoots somebody in the back of the head” without first thinking about it.

The prosecutor talked about the testimony of the two eyewitnesses — Rodney Smith and Terrell Hunt — who said they were in the vehicle when the shooting occurred.

They said Harris shot McCaster.

In closing arguments, Limbaugh told the jury, “We know that everybody in the car was drinking a lot. Everybody was using drugs.”

But he said “intoxication is not a defense to this crime.”

Limbaugh said Smith and Hunt initially lied to police because they thought Harris might kill them “if they told anyone.”

But defense attorney Stephen Wilson argued Smith and Hunt lack credibility.

“Hunt ran off and abandoned his best friend (McCaster) and lied about it,” Wilson said.

He said Smith, who is charged with tampering with physical evidence to cover up the crime, testified for the prosecution solely for his own benefit.

Wilson said there is no evidence Harris killed McCaster other than the testimony of Smith and Hunt.

He told the jury, “The physical evidence doesn’t add up.”

But assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff said in her closing arguments forensic evidence shows only Harris, who was seated behind McCaster at the time of the shooting, could have fired the shot.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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