The jury in Leon Houston's retrial has found him not guilty on each of the counts against him.
Houston was charged with his brother Rocky in the shooting deaths of Roane County Deputy Bill Jones and his ridealong Mike Brown in May 2006.
Now, nearly 3 1/2 years and two trials later, Leon Houston is set to be a free man.
Houston's first trial ended in mistrial by hung jury.
Mike Brown's mother Pat descirbed the verdict as "a joke."
Previous: Jury deliberates Leon Houston case
Nearly 3 1/2 years after a shootout killed a Roane County deputy and a ridealong at the end of Leon Houston's driveway, a jury is deliberating his guilt or innocence.
Deputy Bill Jones and ridealong Mike Brown were killed in a shootout with Rocky and Leon Houston in May 2006.
Leon Houston is at trial for the second time in their deaths--his first case ended in a mistrial by hung jury. The same was true for his brother Rocky Houston's case.
The jury in this case was charged Wednesday afternoon by Judge David Hayes, then went home for the night. They are from Roane County and have not been sequestered for the case. They began deliberating Thursday morning around 8:30.
Defense attorney Jim Logan has twice represented Houston, building his case around an admission that his client was involved in the shootout, but that Leon Houston hadn't fired any of the fatal shots.
The two sides of the legal cases have essentially battled over the narrative of the shootout and the deputy's intentions upon arrival. The prosecution contends the Houstons gunned down the deputy and his ridealong without any real provocation, after a history of problems with Roane County law enforcement. The defense has contended the Houstons had long been harassed, and that they were simply defending themselves.
The jury deliberated for about 3 hours until 11:30, then went on break until 1 p.m. The break came a bit early, due to a juror's request for a smoke break.
Defense attorney Jim Logan indicated the jury had a question for the judge, and Judge Hayes' response to the jury was that the answer was in the evidence that had been presented.
The jury resumed deliberating after lunch.