DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) -It took a Houston County jury only minutes for a jury to find a Dothan man not guilty of murdering a popular radio personality’s brother.
Dothan police charged Jatavion Collins and another man with brutally beating 59-year-old Neal Craft Barber, the brother of David Sommers who worked for years in Dothan and Montgomery.
Barber’s body was found on September 10, 2019 on a driveway in downtown Dothan. He suffered blunt force injuries.
Lacking DNA to connect Collins to the crime, prosecutors struggled to make a convincing case. A jury that began deliberating at 11:35 Wednesday morning had returned its verdict shortly after noon.
“I believe justice has been served,” defense attorney Adam Parker told WTVY. He believed DNA evidence showed no link between Collins and the crime.
Sommers, on his Facebook page, graphically described the murder, claiming all involved had been high on synthetic marijuana.
Dentavious Givens, the second suspect, is tentatively scheduled for trial in May. Prosecutors believe they have stronger evidence against him that they did Collins.
Credit Ken Curtis @ WTVY