HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A judge dismissed a caseWednesday morning where Henrico County Police Officer Timothy "Grant" Million III was charged with voluntary manslaughter after he shot and killed a man during an incident on Interstate 64 in 2021.
The incident happened on November 6, 2021, and resulted in thedeath of Tony Singleton.
Judge Joseph Ellis's ruled what Million did was not illegal and the Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney had not presented enough evidence for a jury to decide on the case.
Million's family broke out into tears and prayers after the judge struck the case down, as Million hugged his lawyers.
The officer's trial started Monday, with testimony from two women who had stopped on I-64 to help after seeing a car flip multiple times. The women said the driver — later identified as Singleton — appeared drunk or on drugs, had a knife in his waistband and wanted to drive back into traffic after the crash.
Million responded to the crash and what happened next resulted in Singleton's death.
Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor told the jury that Officer Million's actions were not reasonable that night. She argued that Million seeing a knife handle in Singleton's waistband did not justify him pulling a gun and firing it multiple times.
Taylor said even after Singleton fell to the ground, Million fired two more times.
But Million's attorney, Peter Baruch, told the jury Million saw metal in Singleton's waistband and saw him reach in that direction. Baruch said Officer Million believed Singleton had a gun and thought he was going to shoot him.
Baruch said using deadly force was the "only choice" Million had.
Other witnesses who testified on Monday included a driver who saw the officer shoot Singleton, the head of the Henrico 911 Call Center and a woman who did a ride-along with Million the night of the incident.
A 911 call was played on Monday and the jury could hear the dispatcher tell Million "he's got a knife in the front of his pants."
Body-worn camera footage from three different officers' cameras, including Officer Million, was also played in the courtroom. The video showed Million yelling commands to Singleton like "turn off the car," "put your hands out the window," and "driver, stop reaching around."
Defense Attorney Edward Nickel introduced a motion to strike the Commonwealth's case late Tuesday after the Commonwealth rested its case.
Nickel argued the prosecutors had not established the shooting was the result of a "sudden heat of passion" or "during mutual combat," which he argued are necessary for a voluntary manslaughter charge.
He said Singleton was intoxicated, failed to obey Million's commands and moved his hands toward his waistband where he had a knife during a tussle with Million prior to the shooting.
"This is a situation where Officer Million was protecting himself from deadly force," Nickel said. "There is no evidence that shows anything he did was wrong with regard to his training."
However, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Huberman said the "heat of passion" stipulation involved in a voluntary manslaughter charge can also be caused by "fear". He said this is an example of an "imperfect self-defense" where somebody believes they are acting in self-defense but the "amount of force used was not reasonable."
Huberman told the judge that none of the people who witnessed the event saw Singleton reach for his knife prior to Officer Million shooting him and argued that the "video doesn't show what they claim it shows, and it's for the fact-finders to decide."
Judge Ellis had said he would study the matter Tuesday night. He gave his decision Wednesday morning.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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