UPDATE: April 3, 2018 1:34 p.m.:
A jury found Dwayne Thurman guilty of 2nd Degree Manslaughter Tuesday afternoon.
The jury found Thurman not guilty of 1st Degree Manslaughter.
Thurman was ordered to the Spokane County Jail following the conviction. His bond was set at $50,000. He has 24 hours to pay the bond. If he doesn't he will go to jail.
Sentencing is set for May 3rd at 9:00 a.m.
UPDATE: April 3, 2018 1:00 p.m.:
We're told the jury has reached a verdict in the manslaughter trial of Dwayne Thurman.
The verdict is expected to be read shortly.
Stay tuned for updates.
Previous Coverage:
The fate of a former Lincoln County Sheriff's Office reserve deputy is in a jury's hands as the manslaughter trial for Dwayne Thurman comes to a close. Thurman is charged with shooting and killing his wife in their Spokane Valley home in 2016.
Now a jury must decide whether Thurman is criminally negligent for how he mishandled the gun that killed his wife, or if the shooting was a tragic accident.
An emotional Thurman took the stand in his own defense Monday and described what happened to his wife that day in January 2016.
“I look up. She’s sitting in the chair in front of me. She pushed back on her chair … and falls to the ground,” Thurman said. “Baby, I didn’t know. I rolled her over. There is no exit wound. I started screaming, ‘Gabrielle,’” The Spokesman-Review reported.
When asked whether he remembered pulling the trigger, Thurman said he couldn't remember because "it happened so fast."
The defense argued that what happened was not a crime, but an accident. Prosecutors meanwhile argued that Thurman's background in the military and with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office made the case more than a tragic accident.
"'I didn't mean it' does not excuse reckless behavior," said prosecutor John Love.
The jury deliberated for about two hours Monday. Deliberations are expected to continue Tuesday.
(story & photo: KHQ.com)