Driver in five-county car chase that ended in man’s death found guilty of murder

A jury delivered a guilty verdict in the murder trial of 42-year-old Nathaniel Harper, who was charged after he led police on a five-county car chase that resulted in the death of 57-year-old Anthony Moore of Lexington.

Harper was convicted of wanton murder, fleeing or evading police and receiving stolen property following an incident on August 29, 2017. The defense team had hoped that Harper would receive a lesser homicide charge such as reckless homicide or second degree manslaughter.

The jury made a determination for his sentence on Wednesday afternoon for a total of 36 years with 30 years for the murder charge, one year for receiving stolen property, and five years for fleeing and evading police.

Testimony recounted the events of the incident five-years-ago, which began with Harper stealing a truck in Lawrenceburg, and fleeing police until his car came to a fiery halt on Old Georgetown Road and Maryland Avenue in Lexington after crashing into a median.

It wasn’t until Harper was taken into custody that police on the scene discovered Moore’s body.

Defense asked for reckless homicide verdict

While the defense team – including Shannon Brooks and Chris Tracy – said there was no question of the truck being stolen and that Harper fled, they questioned whether he should be charged with murder.

“He is guilty of fleeing and receiving stolen property,” Brooks said in closing statements. “You can check those boxes as we stand here now. We concede those.”

They asked their client be charged with reckless homicide, as opposed to wanton murder, defined as the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life..

Per Kentucky Revised Statute, reckless homicide occurs when a defendant recklessly causes the death of another person. Someone acts recklessly when the person fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that should have been apparent.

They stated Harper did not have an extreme indifference to human life with some of his actions before the crash and following it. Brooks referenced statements from Harper that he did everything to avoid hitting police in the chase, avoid hitting construction workers and his reaction after learning he had killed Moore.

Brooks focused on the interview of Harper and a detective while Harper was in the hospital.

In the recording, Harper recounts the chase and how it came to a close and stated, ‘Thank God I didn’t hurt anyone.’ It is at this point, the detective informs him he did kill Moore, and he begins to sob.

“Once he begins to realize and say ‘Thank God I didn’t kill anyone’ and the detective tells him he did, it is an honest response he gives,” Brooks said. “He is in complete and utter disbelief after being initially relieved he thought he had avoided that outcome.”

Prosecution: Actions like ‘firing gun into occupied building’

Assistant commonwealth attorneys Brad Bryant and James Judge argued Harper’s reaction to the death of Moore held no weight to the end result.

Bryant said Harper’s actions were like firing a gun blindly into an occupied building.

“I want to remember what this case is really about,” Bryant said. “It is about what cost Anthony Moore his life. It is about this defendant’s decision to flee from police for 40-plus miles reaching speeds north of 100 miles per hour. … Every time someone dies in an instance like this, we talk about what a tragedy this is. Not only was this a murder, but it was avoidable.”

Bryant said if Harper had chosen to stop and accept his fate – which was being arrested – anywhere between exit 35 and where the crash happened, no one would be in the courtroom because Moore would still be alive.

Bryant said the question posed before the jury was if Harper manifested extreme indifference to the value of human life.

“When you evaluate that, you are looking up to his conduct up to and into the crash,” he said. “What he said in his interview and his sorrow afterwards, that is not relevant to whether he was manifesting extreme difference to the value of human life at the time of the crash.”

Bryant said compassion should have been shown not after the crash, but in the events that led up to it.

“Sure he cried during his statement when he found out he killed somebody. It is hard for me to feel something about that, because my reaction is ‘So what?’ Had you exhibited that compassion while you were out there on that road, we would not be here today. Had you not just exhibited the compassion to pull over and accept your fate, Anthony Moore is alive,” Bryant said.

Sentencing is scheduled to be imposed on Friday, October 21.