A jury found Michael Eades guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter early this morning in Indiana County Court.
After the defense wrapped up their testimony with Eades taking the stand, and both sides presenting closing arguments in the afternoon, the jury took eight hours to deliberate and find Eades guilty of a charge of Involuntary Manslaughter as part of his charge of criminal homicide related to the death of Tyron Howard in Blairsville in September of 2014, while the jury said “not guilty” to charges of burglary, conspiracy to homicide and conspiracy to burglary. Indiana County District Attorney Patrick Dougherty did not have a chance to talk to any of the jurors after the verdict was handed down, but he said that the jury’s message was that Eades was responsible for Howard’s death, but did not believe that there was a plan in place for Eades and the others who were present when Howard was killed.
Eades was one of four men connected with Howard’s death. Howard was stabbed multiple times when Eades, Deandre Jones Jr., Stanley Boynton, and Kevin King visited Howard’s apartment. Howard was bound with extension cord and stabbed multiple times, and money was taken from the apartment in the incident. King and Boynton both testified against Eades during the trial and are receiving reduced sentences for their testimony. Jury selection for Jones is set for August 27th. Eades is facing up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
