SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A California jury has acquitted a man of murder after a trial that hinged, in part, on the meaning of a single word.
The San Jose Mercury News (https://bayareane.ws/2jyTu4x ) says jurors Friday found 22-year-old Tearri Richard not guilty in the deaths of marijuana dealer Bryan Lang and his father.
However, the panel convicted the two actual shooters of second-degree murder for the 2014 deaths.
Prosecutors say the three men planned to rob Lang during a San Jose drug deal. They said Richard sent a text message that day that read: “Where da licks” and argued that “lick” was African-American slang for robbery.
The defense said the men shot in self-defense. They brought in Oakland hip-hop artist Boots Riley, who testified that “lick” can also mean simply “what’s up.”
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