The proceedings in the trial of Darrion Deshon Jackson, 33, Minot, were handed to the jury after closing arguments Thursday morning. After about four hours of deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts of Class AA felony murder and a Class C felony weapons charge.

Jackson and his attorney, Steven Mottinger, had not offered any dispute that he shot Timothy Chrishaod Smith, 38, at The Vegas Motel in north Minot on Jan. 30, 2023, and that he was illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. However, he testified on his own behalf that he shot Smith in self defense.

The defense had provided testimony from Jackson and his friend, Sompohi Guy, about an incident around Thanksgiving in which Jackson was allegedly assaulted by Smith. They shared details of a second incident in which Jackson claimed Smith had threatened to kill him following a domestic dispute over a mutual girlfriend. Jackson claimed in his testimony that Smith threatened to kill him in the moments before the shooting, and he saw Smith reach for his waistband, giving him reason to believe Smith was armed, before he made the split-second decision to fire first.

Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson disputed Jackson’s self-defense claim during her closing arguments, citing evidence from witness testimony and surveillance video footage, which she said showed Jackson had opened the door of the motel room with his gun raised and advanced on Smith before shooting him four times.

Charles Crane/MDN District Judge Stacy Louser listens as Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson presented her closing arguments to the jury at the Ward County Courthouse on Thursday morning.

“I would submit to you that there was not grounds for lethal self defense in this case. Use of force cannot be justified if it can be avoided. That’s the key here. This could have been avoided. Just don’t open the door. You have a cell phone. Just call somebody. Use of deadly force was not reasonable,” Larson said. “There’s no testimony at all, no evidence at all that [Smith] was trying to enter the hotel room.”

Larson also pointed to Jackson’s actions following the shooting, as he changed out of a sweatshirt, remained at the hotel for a time and provided a false name to law enforcement investigating and securing the scene before he fled to another nearby hotel and called himself in.

Mottinger responded by telling the jury he wasn’t going to “sugarcoat” his client’s actions but asserted Jackson’s fear of imminent harm due to his past interactions with Smith necessitated his use of force.

“You don’t have time to think about it. You have to react or the alternative may well be disastrous. You had a chance to listen to Mr. Jackson when he testified. He told you he was scared. He was in fear to the point that he thought he was going to be killed. Why was he in fear? He had seen [Smith] with a gun twice. Smith beat the crap out of him and told him he was going to kill him,” Mottinger said. “What’s he supposed to think? It was a reasonable reaction to the situation. It’s ludicrous to think that he could avoid it by just turning around and shutting the door. What’s he supposed to do? Get shot in the back?”

On rebuttal, Larson said no other witnesses heard the alleged threat made by Smith after the door to the room was opened. She reiterated evidence gleaned from online communications between the two men, in which Jackson himself made threats that caused Smith to ask if Jackson was “going to put me out of my misery?”

“That’s [Smith] asking the defendant, not the other way around. The defendant responded, ‘If I see you in the building that I live in, then I’m going to be in fear of my life and I’m going to handle it. So you best stay out of my way.’ It’s pretty easy to claim self defense when the other person is dead and can’t defend themselves,” Larson said.

Larson replayed the video footage of the incident and reviewed the timing and placement of the four gunshot wounds determined by the autopsy. The first shot fired into Smith’s shoulder was described by Larson as non-fatal. The initial gunshot caused the victim to collapse face first to the ground and was followed moments later with Jackson firing three more shots into Smith’s head.

A sentencing date for Jackson has been scheduled for July 12. Jackson could face up to life imprisonment for the AA-murder conviction.