Jury rejects self-defense, convicts Pure station shooter of murder

Jerry Wayne Merritt faces life in prison without parole now that a jury has convicted him of murder in the June 6, 2014, fatal shooting of Anthony Taylor at Columbus’ Pure Gas Station on Fort Benning Road.

Jurors deliberated seven hours before delivering their verdict about noon Wednesday, finding Merritt guilty of murder, aggravated assault and using a firearm to commit a felony.

They rejected Merritt’s claim that Taylor’s incessant bullying made him so fear for his safety that he had to defend himself to prevent another assault.

Merritt shot Taylor almost eight hours after Taylor beat him over the head with a metal pipe, splitting his scalp. Merritt’s sister testified that Taylor months earlier punched Merritt unconscious and beat him on other occasions as well.

Defense attorney Jennifer Curry said her client developed “battered person syndrome” similar to victims of repeated family violence and sincerely believed the abuse would escalate if he did not shoot Taylor.

But that defense was impeded by the intervening hours between Taylor’s beating Merritt inside the gas station around 1:45 a.m. and Merritt’s shooting Taylor outside the business shortly after 9 a.m.

Bad timing

Georgia law says one can use deadly force against another if he “reasonably” believes it’s necessary to defend against “such other’s imminent use of unlawful force.”

“Reasonably” and “imminent” are crucial qualifiers, said prosecutor Wesley Lambertus.

“The key phrase in this is ‘imminent use of force.’ That imminent use of force left at 1:45 in the morning on June 6,” the assistant district attorney said, of Merritt adding, “If he had that gun at that point in time, he would have been justified in protecting himself.”

Taylor had used a weapon, a pipe, and hit Merritt hard enough to pose a lethal threat. “I believe he even later made the statement that he feared for his life,” Lambertus said. “All that put together, a jury would be more apt to come to the conclusion that there’s self defense.”

Armed with a table leg, Merritt got up and charged after Taylor, who ran away. Merritt went home and told his sister, and they went out looking for Taylor, but couldn’t find him.

Merritt then got a .32-caliber revolver and returned to the gas station, waiting for Taylor to show up at their regular hangout.

When a cousin dropped Taylor off there to buy cigarettes, Merritt was standing outside by the door. He pulled out the gun, and Taylor turned and ran, circling the station as Merritt chased him, shooting.

A bullet hit Taylor in the back, piercing his lung and heart. After he staggered across Trask Drive north of the gas station and collapsed, Merritt walked up and pulled the trigger some more, the empty gun only clicking. Taylor, 44, died later at the hospital.

Because Taylor was unarmed, said nothing and ran away, Merritt could not “reasonably” have believed Taylor still presented an “imminent” threat, Lambertus said: “There’s no self-defense in this case. There’s no imminent threat of force.”

The sentencing

Curry countered that though hours passed between the assault and shooting, Merritt had not slept, and still was under duress and in self-defense mode. Taylor’s mere approach was enough to spark fear of another attack, she said.

She intends to have an expert in battered person syndrome testify during Merritt’s sentencing, which Judge Arthur Smith III set for 9 a.m. Feb. 28.

Lambertus already has filed notice he’ll ask for a sentence of life without parole because of Merritt’s prior felony convictions. Merritt is 50 now and could spend the rest of his life in prison even if eligible for parole. Typically inmates sentenced to life serve 30 years before they’re considered for release.

Lambertus’ sentencing notice said Merritt was convicted of theft by receiving stolen property on May 9, 1986, in Forrest County, Miss., and he was convicted of robbery on April 30, 1992, in Bexar County, Texas.

This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Jury rejects self-defense, convicts Pure station shooter of murder."