Jury finds Uhrichsville man guilty of stalking, attempting to murder ex-girlfriend
NEW PHILADELPHIA – A jury has found a Uhrichsville man guilty of attempted aggravated murder and six other felonies in the stalking and shooting of his ex-girlfriend.
The 12-person jury deliberated for just over an hour Wednesday afternoon before issuing a guilty verdict against 44-year-old Carl Reynolds on felony counts of attempted aggravated murder with a firearm specification, attempted murder with a firearm specification, felonious assault with a firearm specification, violating a protection order, menacing by stalking, illegal use of a tracking device or application and disrupting public service. He was found not guilty on one count of retaliation. Sentencing will take place at a later date.
Reynolds’s attorney Christopher DeLaCruz argued there wasn’t enough objective evidence – such as DNA, blood and gunshot residue – to connect his client to the July 13th crime.
“No evidence was found at the alleged scene of the shooting that placed Carl Reynolds there,” he said. “No shell casings were located and no credible accurate location information from his ankle monitor has placed him at the scene of the shooting.”
Prosecuting attorney Scott Deedrick said the evidence was overwhelming that Reynolds stalked the victim with a GPS device planted on her vehicle, ambushed her and shot her in the head through her vehicle’s windshield, leaving her bloody and with a skull fracture.
“That night he decided, ‘If I can’t have her no one can,’ and he decided to kill her,” Deedrick said, “And he intercepts her at a remote location where there’s no room for her to navigate and he blocks her in and he grabs his rifle and he aims it at her and he fires four shots at her head.”
She was able to escape and drive herself to the Uhrichsville Police Station.
The trial began a week ago. Closing arguments concluded just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, with the verdict read just before 5.