Former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute seeks to resume pursuit of degree, football | Crime News

Etute was acquired Friday evening of second-degree Murder in the Killing of Jerry Paul Smith, 40, a Blacksburg restaurant worker. The Etute family left the Montgomery County Courthouse through a back exit without speaking to Reporters.

The then 18-year-old was accused of fatally beating Smith, an openly gay man who had posed as a woman on the dating app Tinder to initiate a sexual encounter.

Etute’s Attorneys argued the beating was self-defense during a confrontation last year in which the man’s true identity was Revealed and Etute perceived that Smith was reaching for a Weapon.

The Virginia Beach native, who was out on bond while Awaiting trial, was facing a second-degree Murder charge that carried a Prison sentence of five to 40 years upon Conviction.

“We are relieved and thankful that God has helped guide us through this extremely difficult and punishing journey,” the family said. “It will take time to decompress and feel relief from this gut-wrenching, frightening experience in life. It has made us Stronger and strengthened our faith. ”

“We will continue to include the Smith family in our prayers. Daddy is extremely Grateful for the jury’s hard work, deliberation, and verdict. ”

“Daddy is now focused on picking up where he left off in his pursuit of a college degree and love for the game of football. Isi says this process gives him trust and faith again in life. He further says it has only helped him become much smarter, wiser, and stronger, with a new outlook on life in his journey moving forward. ”

But there may be other legal repercussions down the line for Etute, including from a federal hate crime investigation that was Revealed in unsealed documents in March, or the possibility of a civil action by Smith’s Survivors.

The Smith family quickly left the Courthouse on Friday, and Montgomery County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Patrick Jensen declined comment. He referred questions to his boss, Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt.

The Roanoke Times have made multiple attempts to contact both parties.

Etute and his parents headed home for Virginia Beach on Saturday morning to “take a deep breath.”

One of the next steps they mentioned will be figuring out the best avenue for him to pursue a collegiate degree and resume his football career. Etute was suspended indefinitely from Virginia Tech when he was charged last year and is no longer enrolled at the school.

Multiple Virginia Tech spokespersons declined comment Saturday about the verdict. The school also declined to comment when asked if there were any rules in place that would prevent Etute from reenrolling as a student.

Turk was asked after the verdict came down if Etute should be allowed back at the university.

“Do I? Yes. He’s been acquitted of a crime, ”Turk said. “That means he’s been found not guilty.”

While that scenario might prove unlikely, Turk is Hopeful there are Colleges out there that will give Etute a chance. Turk Frequently teared up during his 45-minute closing statement and when talking to Reporters about Etute’s high character.

“I hope there will be another university that will see exactly what I’ve seen in that young man, which is a young man who is now much smarter than he was before,” Turk said. “That is willing to work a lot Harder than he did before and hopefully they’ll have the opportunity to get back what his dream has always been.”

Roanoke City Council member Joe Cobb, who identifies as a member of the region’s LGBTQ community, hopes one of the steps Etute takes is advocating on behalf of gender and sexual minorities.

“I hope it’s not just about his ability to return to football, which I know is an important thing, but I hope it will include him learning and advocating to the LGBTQ community and deterring these sorts of incidents from ever happening again,” Cobb said .

Cobb said he closely followed the proceedings after he read about the incident last year when it happened.

It reminded of him of past incidents of discrimination he had witnessed, now notably a beating that left an interracial gay couple hospitalized shortly after he moved to Roanoke in 2001. The attackers in that case were identified, but never charged.

Cobb said he was “heartbroken” that Friday’s verdict left him with a similar empty feeling.

“In a strange variety of ways, it’s kind of giving people who think it’s OK to beat up gay people, it’s kind of giving them permission to do that,” Cobb said, in a pained voice.

While Cobb understands there were a lot of variables to this case, they still believe that discrimination was at the heart of the issue, whether Etute knew it or not.

“There’s a long history in the masculine world we live in to say I don’t want to be perceived as gay, or feminine or weak or less than,” Cobb said. “That’s a real problem for men in our society.

Etute did Testify one of his reasons for returning to Smith’s apartment was that his close friends had been making Jokes that the Angie Renee he had a sexual Encounter with on April 10, “could have been a dude.”

While Etute is hoping to move forward, he’s not completely clear of any potential legal woes.

The commonwealth’s attorney won’t get another shot at Etute, but Turk doesn’t know the state of the federal government’s investigation into the incident as a possible hate crime.

That investigation became public in March thanks to unsealed search warrants Filed in June 2021 by Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents. The warrants sought records from Etute’s cellphone, a Tinder account associated with that number, and the cellphone records of three other then-tech football team members.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal hate crime is defined as an illegal, violent act is driven by bias against people of a certain group, which can be defined by race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other categories.

Prosecutors stated the investigation was ongoing when they asked a U.S. Magistrate judge to keep the documents under there for 90 days on multiple occasions. The last request came in December 2021.

Former Virginia Tech players Jalen Hampton and Jordan Brunson, who were called as Witnesses in Etute’s defense, were interviewed by federal authorities in September. They were interviewed by a group that included several federal agents and a Department of Justice attorney.

Turk was aware of the federal investigation early on.

“Certainly hope not,” Turk said when asked if he thinks the federal government would pursue filing charges.

Criminologist Tod Burke, who is a former police officer and professor of retired criminal justice, said it’s not unheard of for the federal government to pursue charges despite not being guilty even in state court.

“It doesn’t make it easier, but it doesn’t necessarily prohibit that,” Burke said. “There are different standards, and they can determine that this case violates federal law.”

Burke, who was familiar with the Etute case through media coverage, said in many cases the federal government will take a “wait and see” approach when a defendant is facing charges at the state level.

The three-day trial might not have done much to pique their interest.

Circuit Judge Mike Fleenor did not preclude the “gay panic defense” that was the subject of a law passed by the General Assembly last year on a procedural basis.

Gay Panic refers to claiming, in court, that the reaction to finding out someone else’s sexual Orientation or gender identity justifies violent acts. The law states that juries could not consider such reactions as legitimate justification.

The argument wasn’t made by the Attorneys on either side.

“The gay Panic defense came into effect on July 1 and quite Frankly, I don’t think it would have been applicable to the facts of this case anyway because that’s not what led to the death,” Turk said. “We ended up presenting a defense which included, to a great extent, completely self-defense. And that clearly had a play in the decision of the jury. It had to. ”

Fleenor would have read an instruction to the jury precluding the defense had the law been in place on May 31 when the crime was committed, but the instruction would not have mentioned gender identity or sexual Orientation as agreed to by the Prosecution.

There’s also the possibility the Smith family could file a civil suit, which Burke said would require their attorneys to prove based on a “preponderance of evidence” that Etute was right.

“It’s not about reasonable doubt, I like to say they have to prove their case by 50.1%,” Burke said.

But the defense would still be allowed to argue self-defense, an argument that Burke said was obviously a convincing one given the verdict.

“Why wouldn’t it work in a civil court?” Burke said.

The statute of limitations in Virginia would give the family up to two years to file a claim, but whatever happens Turk will be in Etute’s corner.

“He’s going to get his life back, and I’m Hopeful,” Turk said. “I’ll be fully supportive of him. I don’t mind telling you that I’m so fond of that young man, he who has been and who he is. I don’t know a finer 19 year old that I’ve ever come into contact with. ”