[piytar]

Um, I think the guy who got killed was the ex-con.

This whole story doesn’t add up — why was Stokes prosecuted? Seems the jury didn’t take long to come to the conclusion he should not have been...

[AnAmericanMother]

Don't know for sure, but my guess is that there was a prior confrontation involved somewhere in this, perhaps a rivalry between the two men for the affections of the woman (for example - but it could have been money, or drugs, or a used car sale gone bad).

If there was some doubt as to the shooter's motives, and some evidence of bad feeling, the DA probably decided to let it go to the grand jury. The defense may have been confident enough in its case to reject a plea and let the jury decide.

[Mountain Troll]

Yep, misread the story.