A Texas father who was accused of fatally shooting the drunk driver who killed his two sons has been acquitted by a jury on Wednesday, Fox News Insider reported.
In 2012, David Barajas, 32, was pushing his broken-down car along the road 30 miles southeast of Houston with his 11- and 12-year-old sons. That's when 20-year-old Jose Banda, a drunk driver, fatally struck the two boys.
Prosecutors claim Barajas then went home, got a gun and went back to the wreckage to shoot Banda. But the investigation never turned up a gun, and there wasn't an eyewitness to the shooting, according to NBC News.
Gunpowder debris on Barajas' hands came back negative, but Barajas' attorney, Sam Cammack, could not identify who else could have killed Banda. Cammack said Barajas was only focusing on trying to save his sons' lives the night of the crash, and the lawyer was able to create enough ambiguity to keep a conviction out of reach, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The Barajas family broke down into tears in the courtroom while Jose Banda's family sat stunned in disbelief, according to ABC News.
A "visibly angry" District Attorney Jeri Yemme said prosecutors would never put forward a case against a person they did not believe was guilty.
"Three sons were lost that day. The Barajas children and the Banda son," Yenne said, according to ABC News.
Barajas faced a potential life sentence if he had been convicted.
