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Bar Owner Convicted of Murder
Extraction, September 17
A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for only three hours before returning a guilty verdict this afternoon against Daryl Burton, 42, in the sensational slaying last fall of environmental activist Joseph Lewis, 34, at a service station near the border of Autonomous Zone 7G and Continuous Agricultural District 4. The jury found Burton guilty of second degree murder, a Class II felony with a maximum prison sentence of forty years.
Burton faces additional charges including federal drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering for his role in a bizarre scheme to addict energy workers to powerful amphetamines in an attempt to increase their productivity while at the same time profiting from the drug sales.
Extraction native Marni Jackson, 34, has been missing along with two other individuals since the incident, with authorities conceding privately that she may also be one of Burton’s victims. An official with knowledge of the case said that the search for Jackson, her minor son, and a mysterious third person has been scaled back unless additional evidence surfaces.
Judge Lawton J. Hand had denied a change of venue when Burton’s attorneys argued that he could not receive a fair trial in Extraction, due to the “reputation as undesirable” that people with his last name suffer. Burton’s wife Deborah, 38, developed a reputation as a troublemaker herself during the trial and was twice threatened with arrest over her courtroom conduct.
Burton’s alleged accomplices, brothers William “Deuce” Belvin and Merle Belvin, pled guilty to reduced charges of criminal negligence in exchange for their testimony against Burton. In vivid detail, they described Burton shooting Lewis and Jackson, but they claimed to have no idea what happened to Jackson afterwards. In cross examination, Burton’s attorneys pounced on the Belvin brothers’ testimony, but the physical evidence, including Lewis’s blood on cash found in Burton’s possession, seemed overwhelming.
Members of Anti-Extraction, an umbrella group of environmental and community activists, welcomed the guilty verdict. “If this trial brings new attention to the environmental and human costs of the extraction, then Joseph didn’t die in vain,” said Jesse Norman, president of the organization.
Burton’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 9.
Daryl Burton was convicted of second-degree murder.