Not guilty: Ellicott man cleared of all charges in stepfather's death | News, sports, jobs

OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Tucker Richard was found not guilty in the January 6, 2023 shooting death of his stepfather, Scott Blake. He walked out of the Chautauqua County Jail on Tuesday a free man.

MAYVILLE – Tucker Richard walked out of the Chautauqua County Courthouse on Tuesday a free man.

At 11:30 a.m., a jury found Richard not guilty of both second-degree murder and the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Scott Blake.

As soon as the jury foreman announced the verdict, public defender Nathaniel Barone hugged Richard. There were audible gasps and cheers.

Judge David Foley warned everyone against further outbursts and those present calmed down. He thanked the members of the jury for their service. There were six men and six women, as well as two female alternate jurors.

Richard had two family members in the courtroom – his grandmother and a great-aunt. Both were overcome with emotion and declined to immediately comment. Judy Richard, his grandmother, hugged Richard and began to cry.

On January 3, 2023, Richard, who was 18 at the time, shot his stepfather Scott Blake in the head with a shotgun at their home, 2256 Willard St. Ext. in the town of Ellicott, not far from the Jamestown city limits.

The prosecution argued his actions were intentional, but the defense said they were self-defense.

Barone thanked the jury for finding his client not guilty on both counts.

“Justice is what it’s all about. It’s about the system, it’s about the system working,” he said.

Barone noted that Richard, now 20, is getting a new lease on life. If found guilty of second-degree murder, he faces 25 years in prison to life in prison.

“Without the effort of the judges, the work and the decision that came out of it, he would never have had this second chance.” said Barone.

The trial began on October 21 and lasted ten days plus three days of deliberation. The prosecution had 15 people testify, while the defense had Richard's grandmother, Judy, testify on his behalf. She was only allowed into court after she testified on the witness stand.

Two members of Blake's family were in court Tuesday, a sister and an ex-wife. They appeared angry, had tears in their eyes, and began talking to District Attorney Jason Schmidt and other staff members after the verdict.

As they left court with Schmidt, they said they were not interested in commenting at that moment.

Two of Blake's sons were in court during the trial but live out of state and were apparently unable to return as the trial's fourth week began Tuesday.

Schmidt said he was extremely disappointed with the verdict.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat this. … Personally, I’m devastated by this. I feel like I let the family and law enforcement down.” he said.

Schmidt then spoke to the jury about their decision, but is unsure what else could have been done.

“I always try to learn from these verdicts when I speak to jurors after a trial because they can give you insight that sometimes you don't have when you're involved in the trial and can lose track of it. But even after speaking to the jurors, I was surprised at where their analysis took them.” he said.

According to Schmidt, jurors said they wanted to know more about Richard's background and his relationship with his stepfather, which the court did not allow them to share.

“The expression is: 'The prohibitive value would not have outweighed the prejudice.' There is evidence that is always excluded to protect the rights of the accused.” he said.

The Post-Journal/OBSERVER spoke with four jurors and asked them to comment on their decision. All four declined except for one who just said so “I’m just glad it’s over.” The other jurors had left court before they were addressed.

This is Schmidt's first murder trial since he was elected district attorney in 2020.

Before the trial began, Schmidt noted that both his office and the prosecution had proposed various plea agreements to avoid a trial.

“We couldn’t close this gap here” he said.

Nevertheless, he remains disappointed.

“I believed in the case. I believed in the evidence and the integrity of the investigation. We believe that the theory of the case that we presented to the jury is exactly what happened here. The fact that we have an acquittal here does not change my view of the case. I just wonder what I could have done better to get a conviction.” he said.