Jury Deliberates In Case Of Murdered EMU Football Player

ANN ARBOR (AP/WWJ) - A jury is considering the fate of a man charged with murder in the robbery and shooting of Eastern Michigan University football player Demarius Reed.

The prosecution and defense wrapped up their cases Monday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Twenty-one-year-old Ed Thomas of Detroit faces open murder and robbery charges in the Oct. 18 death of Reed, a 20-year-old from Chicago.

After about four hours of deliberations, jurors asked Judge Donald Shelton to review a section of testimony — which WWJ's Jon Hewett was told would take about an hour.

In closing arguments earlier Monday, Assistant Prosecutor Nimish Ganatra said that Thomas is just as guilty as the shooter. Twenty-year-old Kristopher Pratt, also of Detroit, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Pratt admits pulling the trigger and has testified against Thomas. Ganatra says Thomas handed Pratt the gun.

Thomas's lawyer Lorne Brown says Pratt lied to get a plea deal and says Thomas was just hanging out with Pratt the night of the killing.

Brown told jurors his client didn't have anything to do with the robbery or the shooting; and that jurors should disregard Pratt's testimony which was "bought and paid for."

Ganatra said Reed was murdered "for an iPhone and a wallet that were never even used."

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