As Suspect Is Acquitted, Shooting Victims Protest

"I was, myself, happily surprised," said Michael Lytle, the second attorney. "I think the state may have shown that my client may have done it, but not beyond a reasonable doubt."

Seth Zucker, a spokesman for the Montgomery County state's attorney's office, issued a statement saying that the state was "disappointed by the verdict" and that prosecutors felt the case was "well tried" both times. Kelly did not respond to a request for an interview made through his attorney.

A member of the jury, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her privacy, said reaching the verdict was tough. "The whole process was very, very difficult and very draining from the beginning to the end," she said. "I think everyone felt the exact thing."

She said she did not think "there were holes in the case," but she said she and other jurors felt that prosecutors did not present "adequate evidence." She said Kelly's age had not been a crucial factor and declined to say whether she and other jurors found the victims' testimony credible.

The shootings occurred during the same month that John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the region with sniper attacks. The two were arrested Oct. 24.

In the Halloween shootings, officers arriving at the 7-Eleven near New Hampshire Avenue and Lockwood Drive found Sidibe first, on the ground, shot once in the forehead. Inside the store, they found Watson, conscious despite having been shot in the head and the back of the neck.

"I have to fight long enough to identify this kid," Watson recalled thinking.

Watson and Wainwright provided police with a detailed description, and with the assistance of a tracking dog, officers took Kelly into custody minutes later. The gun was never recovered.

Kelly told detectives that he had been involved in the incident on the bus but denied being the shooter.

Sidibe, Watson and Wainwright testified in both trials. A jailhouse informant testified in the trials that Kelly told him he was responsible for the shootings and that he had thrown the gun in a dumpster.

Watson said he was arrested repeatedly after the shooting, in part because of financial problems stemming from his injuries. He testified at the second trial that he ran into Kelly in jail and that Kelly apologized and asked him to testify that he did not see the gunman. Kelly's attorneys assailed Watson's credibility, drawing attention to his criminal record.

Kelly did not take the stand. His attorneys did not call the witnesses whose absence in the first case had led the appellate court to overturn the convictions.

Researchers Meg Smith and Aruna Jain contributed to this report.