Ricky Neal Jr. Found Guilty

TYLER – A jury has found Ricky Neal Jr. guilty of murder in last year’s slaying of a former area football star. After a lengthy day of deliberations Tuesday, with no decision, the panel returned to work Wednesday. Neal was accused of murdering Chris Mass, 23, and shooting at Jonathan Lamone Dews, 29, in February 2013 in the Broadway Square Mall parking lot. According to KETK, several key points were made during Tuesday’s defense testimony. Among them: an investigator was led to believe Neal and Mass didn’t know each other. Also, detectives said video inside the mall showed Neal didn’t communicate with Mass and did not provoke him; and Neal admits to shooting Mass.

Other points made during testimony: Neal said he never saw a weapon on Dews or Mass during an interview with police following the shooting; and Neal said he thought he shot Mass twice, but he actually shot him three times with a .40 caliber firearm, according to prosecutors. Also, Neal told detectives he shot Mass because he feared what Mass could have gotten out of his car. No weapons were found in Mass’s vehicle. Along with that, Dews’s parole officer reported several violations since May 2013: driving without license (2x) and substance abuse.

Mass was a former Chapel Hill and Stephen F. Austin athlete. The jury is also responsible for the punishment phase of the case. According to both lawyers, Neal and Mass were allegedly affiliated with opposing gangs: Neal with the “Bloods” and Mass with the “Crips.” They also pointed out Dews was a known and convicted drug dealer. Neal faces an additional charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after police determined he shot at Dews. That case will be tried separately.