Jury finds Nashid Porter guilty of first degree murder

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Nashid Porter will spend the rest of his life in prison after a judge sentenced him today.

A jury found Porter guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Brian Grant in July 2012. A judge then sentenced Porter to life without the possibility of parole.

Porter represented himself in the trial, but he was not present for most of the trial. He also tried to avoid the sentencing phase of the trial, but the judge said the law requires a defendant to be present for sentencing.

When bailiffs finally managed to get Porter back into the courtroom, he yelled to Grant’s family that he did not shoot Grant and demanded of District Attorney Ben David to tell him where the gun was. As David tried to read a statement from Grant’s family, Porter sang as bailiffs surrounded him.

The jury found Porter guilty of first degree murder with pre-meditation and deliberation. The jury also found Porter guilty of firing into an occupied dwelling and guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Porter told his standby counsel this morning that he does not want to come back into the courtroom. Porter plead the 5th amendment telling the judge he will not call on witness, testify or offer a closing argument.

Porter still faces a trial in Duplin County for allegedly killing Obediah Hester, who was a witness to the Grant murder.

For live updates from court, follow WWAY weekend anchor Hannah Patrick on Twitter @Hannahpatric.