Monday will mark the fifth week of the second trial of Dominic Dennard, Jr. for the alleged murder of Simeon Popov, a Syracuse University music graduate student, and a verdict could be delivered before the weekend.

The jury went into deliberations yesterday at about 4 p.m. and continued until about 10:30 p.m., when the judge recessed for the night after the jury requested access to a large amount of evidence and testimony.

Proceedings will begin at 9 a.m., and some expect a decision by the day’s end.

After delivering his closing argument, Chief Assistant District Attorney Nicholas DeMartino said he prosecuted the retrial much like the first.

‘You just argue what the proof indicates and try to anticipate some arguments from the defense,’ DeMartino said. ‘I want the jury to see the case the way I see it.’

Scott Porter, Dennard’s defense lawyer, said he thought the prosecution’s case was much stronger in the second trial because of more evidence and witnesses.

‘We just worked as hard as we did the first time,’ Porter said. ‘I just wanted to tell (Dominic’s) story.’

Porter said a major turning point in the case came Wednesday, when Dennard took the stand in his own defense.

After beginning deliberations, the jury requested that testimony about the night of the murder be read back to them, specifically descriptions of how the killer’s face and eyes were covered by a ski mask and hood, so only the eyes and bridge of the nose were showing.

The Popov family has declined contact with the media, but Janice Grieshaber, executive director of the Jenna Foundation, has spent the past four weeks with Popov’s family.

‘At this point, they just want it to be over; they want justice,’ Grieshaber said. ‘Going through all of this again is just a nightmare.’

The Jenna Foundation, which promotes education and advocacy as a solution to violence in our society, financed the Popovs’ travel fees and accommodations for the duration of the second trial.

Dennard is charged with the killing of Popov, who walked in on a robbery while delivering a pizza on Jan. 20, 2002. The first trial ended last June with a hung jury, forcing a mistrial.

Dennard is charged with first and second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, the charges carry the weight of a possible life sentence.

Published on February 5, 2004 at 12:00 pm