Update Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.
A jury found 31-year-old Jacob Troxel of Billings guilty Monday in the shooting death of 29-year-old Michael Duran.
“I was thankful for justice to be served,” said Ashley Woodward, Duran’s girlfriend at the time.
Troxel was convicted of deliberate homicide with a weapon enhancement. Yellowstone County District Judge Jessica Fehr presided.
“The grief feels fresh," Woodward said. "He's still gone and so I'm glad that somebody who's able to do something that violent and horrific is not on the streets anymore. I'm thankful for that.”
Duran’s family was also in the courtroom and responded to the verdict after the jury deliberated for a little more than five hours. The incident was caught on a KTVQ security camera aimed at Fourth Avenue North and North 32nd Street, on Augu. 20, 2022.
“I think our logical brain is grateful for the video because had that been a block different, we'd be in a completely different situation," Michael's sister Jessica Duran said about the location of the camera.
It began with a road rage incident between Troxel and Duran before escalating to violence that ended Duran's life.
Prosecutors suggested that Troxel's actions were unprovoked and unnecessary.
After the verdict, Troxel's defense attorneys say it's important to look at the entirety of the video, saying he feared for his life and his actions were justified.
“There is a clear break in the fight that occurred,” said Sara Kottke, Tnoxel’s defense attorney. “Jacob clearly disengaged.”
The jury and Duran's family looked at the video differently.
“How many times did he have to get assaulted before he was able to actually defend himself, and that's what I think the jury understood,” Anthony Duran, Michael’s brother said. “And they came to the correct verdict, I believe.”
After nearly two-and-a-half years, a coroner's inquest and a trial, they finally have justice.
“When you see someone walk out of the room in handcuffs, you're like, OK, someone is being held accountable for this, “ said Jessica Duran. “And I think more than anything for our family, we feel so supported by the community of Billings.”
“The most difficult thing for me I guess was hearing some of the things that I knew were not true about Michael because of the heart that he was,” said Sara Mack, a family friend. “And I'm sending my love to his mother who's still out in LA right now.”
Troxel's family was also in the courtroom for the trial.
“They're upset,” said Natasha Fernando, who also represented Troxel and works with Kottke at the Alpine Law Firm. “They're in shock, and that's to be expected. I think they're going to be processing this over the next few days, weeks, months.”
“There were 2 families who have been ruined now,” said Kottke.
“He was a really incredible man,” Woodward said. “And I think anybody that met him and knew him, knew that.”
Update 5 p.m.
A jury found 31-year-old Jacob Troxel of Billings guilty in the shooting death of 29-year-old Michael Duran.
The ruling was handed down just before 5 p.m. at the Yellowstone County courthouse.
Sentencing will be held in 60 to 90 days
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
(initial report) BILLINGS — Jury deliberation began Monday morning inside the Yellowstone County courthouse and continued late into the afternoon regarding a road-rage case that turned fatal in August of 2022.
The case centers on the death of 29-year-old Michael Duran, who was shot and killed by 31-year-old Jacob Troxel after a heated argument between the two turned physical, which all escalated from a road rage dispute. The incident was caught by KTVQ's surveillance footage.
On Monday morning, the courtroom was tense as both sides presented closing arguments following the week-long trial.
Yellowstone County Deputy Prosecutor Emily Jo Roark began the closing arguments, suggesting that Troxel's actions were unprovoked and unnecessary.
“Michael Duran was murdered for no reason,” Roark said to the jury. "His murder was senseless."
Defense attorney Sarah Kottke argued that Troxel was justified in using force, emphasizing that the incident was a clear case of self-defense.
“We told you in opening that this was a case of self-defense and that’s exactly what you saw,” Kottke said. "Ladies and gentlemen, you spent the week watching a case of smoke and mirrors. The state has attempted to distract you of the facts of this case."
On the surveillance video, Troxel and Duran argue for about seven minutes. Troxel shoves and punches Duran throughout the altercation, before backing away and getting in his vehicle. At that point, Duran approaches Troxel's vehicle, and within about a minute of doing so he falls to the ground after being shot.
Kottke said that when Duran re-engaged in the dispute, he was violently attacking Troxel through the car window, and Troxel didn't have a choice.
“From the moment both men turned their backs and disengaged, and Michael Duran chased after Jacob while he was in his car, this was not a fair fight,” Kottke said.
Roark, on the other hand, accused Troxel of constructing a false narrative after the shooting, claiming that Troxel was attempting to paint Duran as the aggressor when he initiated most of the physicality.
“After killing Michael, the defendant started manufacturing his defense by painting Michael as the villain,” Roark argued. "Michael wasn’t looking for a fight that day, but the defendant was. If it wasn't Michael, it would've been somebody else."
Just before noon on Monday, the jury was left with the task of determining whether Troxel’s actions were motivated by self-defense or whether they amounted to deliberate homicide. If he's found guilty, Troxel could face life in prison.
As of late Monday afternoon, deliberations were ongoing.
