Jury finds Moore man not guilty of pointing gun at police officer during traffic stop

He was accused of running a stop sign at a high rate of speed.

Stevenson faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the firearm charge.

He was pulled over about 1 a.m. Nov. 19, 2011, in the 5400 block of South Harrah Road.

Stevenson took the stand Wednesday, telling jurors he was unarmed when officer Jason Hall shot him after he exited his pickup at the officer's request.

Stevenson acknowledged having an unloaded handgun in his jacket pocket. He testified that he tried to tell Hall about it three times but the “agitated” officer wouldn't let him finish.

It was when the officer was about to search him that Stevenson said he decided to pull the gun out of his pocket and show the officer because “it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

Defense attorney Michael Branch, in his closing argument, said Hall lied about what happened because “he shot an unarmed man.”

The attorney told jurors the lead detective in the case “botched the investigation” and cost Stevenson a chance to properly defend himself in court.

“They did the right thing. He was innocent,” Branch said of the jury. “The truth came out and they judged Mr. Stevenson based on those facts.”