ST PAUL, Minn. — A Ramsey County jury is now deliberating the fate of Terry Brown, who’s charged with one count of second-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and a count of illegally possessing a firearm in the chaotic shootout at Truck Park bar in Oct. 2021 that ended with 27-year-old Marquisha Wiley being killed and 15 others injured.
While Brown claimed self-defense, the prosecution argued Brown is not entitled to self-defense because he created his own peril by formulating a plan with his armed friends to confront his enemy, Devondre Phillips.
In February, a jury convicted Phillips on eight counts of attempted murder for his role.
During closing arguments Tuesday morning, Brown’s attorney Stephen Grigsby pointed out that Phillips had already been convicted of attempted murder and fired at Brown first, albeit by a fraction of a second.
“What would a reasonable person do during the course of eight attempts to murder him with a firearm at six feet away? He did the only thing available to him to stop the attempted murder,” Grigsby said.
Grigsby also conceded that Brown legally did not have a right to possess a gun, but he told the jury that Brown still had a right to defend himself.
“You’re not stripped of your right to self-defense if you’re ineligible to possess a gun,” Grigsby said. “It might make you guilty of illegally possessing a gun.”
Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Treye Kettwick relied heavily on surveillance footage from the Truck Stop bar, showing the jury many frames. Kettwick argued that the footage shows Brown advancing on Phillips with a gun in his hand as Phillips shot Brown’s friend in the stomach, and that Brown continued advancing until the shootout between Brown and Phillips commenced.
“It’s not honest to huddle together, come up with a plan and initiate a confrontation. That’s not honest or good faith. You can’t create your own peril and shoot your way out of it. He’s not entitled to self-defense,” Kettwick said.
Police determined that Brown’s bullet hit and killed Wiley. He is charged with second-degree intentional murder because of “transferred intent” – meaning prosecutors argue he intended to kill Phillips, and if someone else died in the course of his actions, that intent is transferred.
The jury began deliberations around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.