Jury recommends life sentence for Tulsa man in 2016 death of security guard
Tulsa OK June 12 2018 A Tulsa County jury on Friday recommended a 33-year-old man spend the rest of his life in prison for fatally shooting a security guard during a 2016 brawl in the area of the Route 66 Event Center.
Byron Terrail Penn was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Norman Huntley, who was shot at a car wash at 5941 E. 11th Street on Oct. 2, 2016.
Jurors opted to convict Penn of a lesser included offense of first-degree manslaughter, but they ultimately recommended a life sentence after becoming aware he had multiple prior convictions, two of which were for possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
The jury also recommended Penn serve 7½ years in prison for a related charge of illegally having the gun used to shoot Huntley, whom authorities have said was killed after he intervened in the theft of a backpack from the nearby Route 66 Event Center where Huntley worked security — by someone Penn reportedly knew.
The fight began after security personnel tracked the suspected thieves to the car wash, where police said a getaway vehicle had been waiting.
Penn’s attorney, Mike Manning, painted the incident as a case of self-defense, with Penn’s girlfriend at the time — who wasn’t at the shooting scene — telling jurors she later saw that Penn sustained a series of injuries to his face, including a chipped tooth. Another witness alleged Penn had been pistol-whipped before Huntley was shot.
But Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray said that witness testimony was contradictory to evidence collected at the scene and a video that showed most of the fatal altercation. He said the footage did not show Huntley handling a weapon of any kind, although he could be seen punching Penn’s acquaintance during the melee.
Gray, during his closing arguments, said self-defense is not applicable to the case because it was obvious Penn chose to engage Huntley in a physical confrontation, and additionally pointed out Penn fled the scene and wasn’t arrested until about four months after Huntley was killed.
District Judge Kurt Glassco is set to sentence Penn on June 20
Tulsa World
