LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A jury has found a Riverside man not guilty of the murder of a friend during a road trip in Northern California, but has found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter and taking a vehicle.
The jury handed down the verdict in the trial of 22-year-old Mavrick William Fisher on Friday.
Fisher stood trial for the killing of 25-year-old Grant David Whitaker of Mackinaw, Illinois, on Aug. 20, 2019, at Richardson Grove State Park in Humboldt County.
The trial proceedings were transferred to Lake County after Whitaker’s body was recovered on a property in the Scotts Valley area near Lakeport.
The two men, both deaf, had driven west, reportedly looking for property to purchase when they had a disagreement about parting ways.
District Attorney Susan Krones’ theory was that following their argument, Fisher attacked Whitaker – who she said wanted to part company – with a rock and beat him to death while he was sleeping in the tent they shared at Richardson Grove State Park.
Defense attorney Tom Feimer said that Fisher, however, has maintained since the beginning – and would do so again on the stand at trial – that he was defending himself against Whitaker’s attack.
Feimer said it was Fisher who wanted to go his separate way, and that night after their argument, Whitaker came into his tent and lunged at him. Fisher said he grabbed Whitaker’s hand and felt a sharp cut on his own hand.
The defense argued that a struggle ensued in which Fisher, in self-defense, grabbed a rock that was being used to hold down the tent and began hitting Whitaker, resulting in his death.
Feimer said Fisher admitted to driving to Lake County after Whitaker’s death.
Once here, Krones said Fisher – who drove the Chevy Impala that Whitaker had borrowed from his grandmother – disposed of Whitaker’s body on a ranch where the two of them had worked in Scotts Valley.
Sheriff’s deputies found the Chevrolet at the Clearlake Oaks Dollar General on Aug. 24, 2019, the same day that Whitaker’s grandmother reported him missing in Tazewell County, Illinois.
Two days later, Whitaker’s body was recovered in Scotts Valley and Fisher was taken into custody in Mexico. Days later, he was transferred to the Lake County Jail, where he’s remained since.
Trial began in October
After several delays – some of them due to the court closures resulting from COVID-19 – Fisher’s 12-day trial began in October.
Krones said jury selection began on Oct. 21 with evidence and testimony beginning on Oct. 26.
The trial, presided over by Judge Andrew Blum, took place in the Phil Lewis Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport. That larger venue allowed for social distancing of all involved, including six alternate jurors. Krones said that, during the course of the trial, they lost only one juror.
Fisher had given two statements to police, which were entered into the record, in which he claimed Whitaker’s death was a matter of self-defense. At trial, Feimer said it was important for Fisher to tell his side of the story, and he had nothing to hide.
So Feimer said Fisher himself took the stand, where he testified over the course of about two and a half days.
On the stand, during questioning by Krones, Fisher said after the fight that killed Whitaker, he walked down to the Eel River and threw the rock into it.
He then returned to the tent, put Whitaker’s body in a sleeping bag and then placed it in the car.
Fisher brought the body to Lake County and left it at the Scotts Valley ranch. After the property owner raised concerns about leaving the car there, Fisher cleaned it out and left it in Clearlake Oaks.
Later, when he was in Mexico, he acknowledged feeling suicidal and sending messages about his state of mind to friends via social media.
Because Fisher is deaf, as was Whitaker, the case “drew a considerable amount of attention in the deaf community,” said Feimer.
Some of that attention was in the form of vitriol online, not all of it aimed at Fisher. Feimer said one of the interpreters in the trial mentioned seeing a death threat aimed toward them online, “which was very disturbing to all of us,” Feimer said.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 17, the case went to the jury, which deliberated three days. Late Friday afternoon, they returned with a verdict, Krones said.
Krones said the jury found Fisher not guilty of murder – either in the first or second degree.
They hung on a charge of voluntary manslaughter but found him guilty of a lesser included offense, involuntary manslaughter, Krones said.
The jury also hung on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with a special allegation of great bodily injury or death, she said.
Krones said the jury found Fisher guilty of taking a vehicle without permission.
Feimer said Fisher was disappointed that the jury didn’t find him to be entirely justified in his actions.
However, Feimer added, “It’s a much better outcome by far to have a verdict of not guilty on murder one and murder two, so he’s very grateful for that.”
The case isn’t quite over yet.
Blum has scheduled the case to return to court on Dec. 4, by which point Krones must decide if she is going to retry Fisher on the voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon charges and the special allegation of great bodily injury or death.
If she decides to retry Fisher, because he has not agreed to a time waiver, proceedings would start as soon as January, and likely would return to the fairgrounds, she said.
She said Blum also set sentencing for Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m.
Fisher, who remains in custody, is facing a maximum of four years in prison, but it would be served in the local jail, not state prison, Krones said.
Krones said Fisher is eligible for half-time credits, meaning that, with the nearly year and a half he’s already served in custody, he could be set for release early in 2021.
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Man found not guilty of murder, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2019 death of Illinois resident
- Elizabeth Larson
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