CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The lone suspect who didn’t take a plea in a 2019 home invasion slaying has been found not guilty by a Montgomery County jury.

A jury found Richard “Kenny” Woodson not guilty of first-degree murder and especially aggravated burglary charges at the end of the trial on Jan. 30.

The home invasion occurred Nov. 15, 2019, around 11:45 p.m. Three men entered a Dandelion Drive residence through an unlocked door, according to police. There were multiple adults and two children inside. At some point, shots were fired, resulting in the death of one of the intruders Nicoli Jefferies, 37, and Deontrea Milligan, 33, a resident of Dandelion Drive. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.

A cell phone was located at the scene, and police determined it belonged to George Northington.

Northington, 37, and Rasheem Greenwood II, 31, were both charged with first-degree murder. In November 2021, they both took guilty pleas to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for testimony against Woodson.

Woodson accused of setting up robbery

In the trial that began Jan. 17, the state argued that Woodson had set up his best friend, Milligan, for the robbery.

Woodson was sitting with Milligan in the bonus room of the house when three masked men entered. One of the intruders shot Milligan in the hand, and another held Milligan’s pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint, dragged her up the stairs, and used her as a “human shield,” according to defense attorney Jake Fendley.

“For lack of better terms, all hell ended up breaking loose,” Fendley told Clarksville Now.

According to Woodson, after the initial gunshot, the intruder fell back, and Milligan reached for a Mini Draco pistol. Milligan took cover behind the couch with Woodson and slid him the gun. Woodson opened fire on the intruders, striking and killing Jeffries. Another bullet hit Greenwood, according to testimony.

“Kenny ran off after this happened because he had a pending warrant and wasn’t ready to go to jail,” Fendley said. “The two co-defendants, the way they were handled, it just kind of bothered me. They got probation for a murder. … It just felt to me like they were just targeting Kenny to try and prove their case.”

Greenwood admitted on the stand that he was carrying a .32 revolver. He testified that he shot out of reflex and didn’t know that he had actually shot the victim until he was in custody. The bullet found in the victim’s chest matched the revolver he used.

The prosecution argued that Woodson was having financial troubles and had set his friend up to be robbed. Woodson had a wife, a girlfriend and six children, and had been in and out of prison. He had recently lost his job as a barber and was working several jobs, according to Assistant District Attorney Kayla McBride. Woodson’s DNA was found on one of the guns the intruders had, corroborating testimony from the other suspects that the defendant had given them the gun.

Cell phone records indicated Woodson had contacted Northington 18 times in the two days leading up to the murders.

Woodson’s wife testified for the state that she overheard Mr. Woodson on the phone talking about he was planning to “set up a ‘lick’ on his buddy,” according to McBride.

Woodson denies planning robbery

The defendant testified that he and Milligan were close. “I knew Deontrea Milligan since 1996. We grew up together from middle school. We’ve always been close friends,” Woodson said on the stand. “We’re like brothers.”

He denied having any financial problems and said he was actually still working at the barber shop. The night of the home invasion, Woodson said, he gave Northington a ride home after he got off work. He denied the claims that he had been texting and calling Northington.

After the intruders fled, Woodson said, he ran from the scene because he had outstanding warrants and only three months of probation left.

Jury’s verdict: Not guilty

After almost five hours of deliberation, the jury found Woodson not guilty.

“It was always going to be a lot of circumstantial evidence backed up by witnesses and what they saw,” McBride told Clarksville Now. “This case was definitely lots of little puzzle pieces that we really hoped we could all put together in front of the jury in a way that would make sense, because this was not ever going to be a straightforward simple case,” she said.

“I usually talk to the jurors afterward. I think this was a case where they struggled. We had missing text messages on Mr. Northington’s phone. He had deleted a lot of texts between him and Mr. Woodson.”

McBride told Clarksville Now that Woodson owned three phones, and the third one had never been turned over.

“I believe he had the truth on his side,” Fendley said. “The physical evidence matched what he was saying happened.”

Correction: This article has been updated with a corrected date of the home invasion.