De’Von Bailey’s cousin acquitted of assault charge in incident before shooting

De'Von Bailey was fatally shot by officers after a man reported to police that he was robbed and beaten by Bailey and Bailey's cousin, but Thursday, Bailey's cousin was quickly acquitted of charges related to that incident, adding a new wrinkle to an already controversial case.

Lawrence Stoker, who is seen in the body camera footage alongside Bailey before he ran from officers and was shot on Aug. 3, was found not guilty of assault in approximately 10 minutes, according to his lawyer.

Stoker was arrested on misdemeanor charges after another man, Anthony Love, called 911 and reported being robbed at gunpoint and beaten by Stoker and Bailey. That incident prompted officers to search for Bailey and Stoker in southeast Colorado Springs.

After police got the robbery report from Love, officers located Bailey and Stoker in a neighborhood. Once they were found, Bailey ran away from two officers before being searched for a weapon, and they opened fire, believing he was reaching for a gun. The two officers were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury investigation.

Stoker was never charged with robbery, and a lawyer for Bailey's family previously hinted that Love had only called the police out of revenge for losing a fight.

Stoker's attorney says Love was drunk when he made a false report about the robbery, and he added that Love was also found to be under the influence when he testified in court.

According to Stoker's attorney, jurors took only about 10 minutes to find Stoker not guilty of assaulting Love.