UPDATE 7:38 p.m.: After being in prison for two years, a Muscogee County Superior Court Jury has found Quincy Wade not guilty of felony murder, malice murder and home invasion in case of the 2021 shooting death of Wade’s ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend.

Wade was found guilty of misdemeanor criminal trespass.

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A Muscogee County Superior Court jury is now considering the fate of a Columbus man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.

Quincey Wade is accused of the September 2021 shooting death of Maurice Vaughn Jackson inside Patriot Place Apartments on Buena Vista Road. Wade is facing four charges, felony murder, malice murder, home invasion, and aggravated assault.

Closing arguments were held Friday morning. Prosecutors said he went to the apartment where his former girlfriend Channa Powell was with Jackson.

They said Jackson was in a rage at 2:30 in the morning and went into the apartment with a gun. The defense has claimed it was self-defense and Wade starting shooting after Jackson fired first.

Defense attorney William Kendrick said that Powell and Wade were in a toxic relationship. She was 11 weeks pregnant with Wade’s child when the shooting happened.

“Y’all know they are still in contact now,” Kendrick said in his closing argument. “I’ll bet my bottom dollar. They talked last week. … That’s what they do. They go back and forth saying they ain’t fooling with each other anymore. Then they turn around and – whoop – right back together with each other. They got a baby. And y’all know. Y’all know how that go.”

Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly told the jury it was not a toxic relationship, it was domestic violence perpetrated by Wade.

“The defense wants to blame Miss Powell,” Kelly countered. “Which kind of goes hand in hand with this whole domestic violence thing. It’s her fault. She made Mr. Wade mad. It’s her fault. They want to blame Maurice. They want to blame the police. The police made all this up. The facts don’t show that.”

When Wade went into the apartment, Jackson hid in the bathroom, inside the shower.

Powell testified that Wade pointed a gun at her head and her pregnant stomach. The prosecution contends Wade broke through the bathroom door.

Jackson came out from the shower and more than 15 shots were fired, with both men getting hit.

“The medical examiner testified four gunshot wounds,” Kelly said. “The most fatal, the most immediately fatal was through the chest and through his heart. He took his life and everything that goes with that that day because he wanted to control Miss Powell. He did it intentionally. He didn’t accidentally fire off around. This was his intent. He was in a rage. And he was going to go through any thing that stood in his way.”

That’s not how Kendrick says the jury should look at it.

“Once you throw back the curtain and go shooting,” Kendrick said. “… Anybody’s natural reaction is to turn around and fire. Ladies and gentlemen, this was not a good relationship between Mr. Wade and Miss Powell. I am not saying that. But these types of relationships exist. And there was fault on both sides.”