Courts. (Credit: Flickr/Creative Commons)
Maurice Byrd Jr., 42, of Hatboro, is a free man after a jury acquitted him Thursday of first- and third-degree murder charges, determining he acted in self-defense during an encounter with a neighbor outside his business, Razor Reese’s Salon and Spa.
“I say all the glory goes to God," Byrd said in court, according to an article. "We fought a great fight and the truth prevailed. It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances but I’m looking forward to moving forward and ensuring to be the best person I can be.
“For now, I think I’m going to go home, take a shower in my own shower and just really reflect on what’s going on and then head to church Sunday and figure out how I can best serve my community,” added Byrd.
The jury came to their conclusion after five hours of deliberation. Byrd was released after the verdict was announced.
On June 8, 2024, Byrd and a neighbor, Stephen Strassburg, 37, of Hatboro got into a verbal altercation outside of Byrd's business on the 200 block of N. York Road. Byrd called 911 to report that he was being "verbally assaulted," according to court documents.
During the phone call with 911, Strassburg could be heard saying “what are you going to do, you going to shoot me” while using the racial epithet, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Immediately after, seven gunshots could be heard. There was an initial burst of five gunshots, a brief pause and then two additional gunshots,” Long and Dilks alleged in the criminal complaint.
Byrd, according to the 911 call that was played for the jury, stated, “I just had to shoot him. He came after me. He’s down. He’s down.” The dispatcher asked, “Did you hit him?” to which Byrd allegedly responded, “Yes I did.”
You can read the full article here.
