Jury Acquits Defendant in Murder-for-Hire Trial : Court: Jurors say that the prosecution failed to prove that Richard L. Rodriguez was the man who fatally shot a financial analyst and wounded his wife.

The murder-for-hire trial of Richard L. Rodriguez came to a surprise ending Thursday with his acquittal, despite dramatic testimony by the murder victim’s wife that it was Rodriguez who shot them.

After two days of deliberation, the jury found Rodriguez, 22, not guilty of conspiracy of murder in the shooting death of Anaheim financial analyst Owen L. Terry, 56, and of attempted murder in the shooting of Terry’s wife, Pauline, now 52. Rodriguez also was acquitted of robbery and burglary charges.

“My husband’s murderer was freed by an incompetent jury,” Pauline Terry said in an emotional telephone interview. “I identified Richard Rodriguez in a lineup and in court. And I have seen his face every night in my nightmares for the last 15 months.”

Pauline Terry, who said she was shot four times by an intruder and that she crawled over her husband’s body to call police, described the verdict as a “great miscarriage of justice.”

Pauline Terry described Rodriguez as a “walking time bomb.” She added, “I hope the jury can live with themselves knowing that Richard Rodriguez is free and able to do this to another family.”

The couple’s adopted son, David John Terry, 19, is accused of having paid a gunman $3,500 to kill his parents on Nov. 28, 1988. He faces similar attempted murder and conspiracy charges; his trial in the case is expected to begin this summer. Police and prosecutors contend that David Terry was angry with his parents for their role in breaking up a love affair with a Tennessee girl David Terry met during a cross-country trip.

Jurors, however, said they were not persuaded by Terry’s recollection of the events on the night of the attack.

“It’s real emotional--real tearing,” said juror Kathi Kushner of Anaheim. “I don’t believe that the whole story was told. Pauline Terry had conflicting stories. It was a dark hallway. Would you remember that much if somebody was shooting at you? She said he was wearing a black jacket. But he was caught wearing a bright-colored ski jacket.”

At the time of his arrest, on the night of the murder, Rodriguez was found hiding in a bush half a mile away from the Terry home. He was carrying jewelry belonging to the Terrys and had been seen with a handgun just before his arrest.

Rodriguez was convicted of misdemeanor charges of brandishing a handgun and of receiving stolen property.

Jurors said the prosecution failed during the three-week trial to prove that Rodriguez was guilty of murder.

“I’m not 100% sure that he did it or not,” juror Erin Nelsen of La Habra said outside the courtroom. “We feel that we did the best we could do with the evidence presented to us. There was reasonable doubt. We wanted to make the right decision.”

“There was a lot of evidence that made it look like somebody else could have done it,” said juror Sandra Baker of Los Alamitos. The prosecution “could not put him in the house. And the identification wasn’t that clear.”

Rodriguez was teary-eyed as the verdict was read. His attorney, Michael A. Horan, said he was pleased with the verdict but that his reaction in court was subdued because he “felt pain for the (Terry) family.”

During the trial, Horan had argued that Rodriguez’s only role had been to act as a middleman fencing property stolen from the Terrys.

Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of 1 1/2 years in prison on the weapon and stolen property convictions. Horan said it is possible that Rodriguez could be set free today, when he is due back before Superior Court Judge Manuel A. Ramirez for sentencing. Rodriguez spent that much time in jail awaiting trial, Horan said.

Prosecutor Edgar A. Freeman said that the verdict was unexpected and that he believes that Rodriguez’s emotional testimony may have swayed jurors.

“I think surprised is a rather mild word for the outcome. Astonished is more appropriate, based on the quantity of evidence,” Freeman said.

Freeman said the prosecution will now turn its attention to the David Terry case.

In an interview at Orange County Jail, David Terry reacted with visible surprise when he learned of the verdict.

“I can’t be sure” that the jury was right in acquitting Rodriguez, David Terry said and added that he considers Rodriguez a “decent person” but that Rodriguez is someone he does not know well.

David Terry told The Times in a Dec. 3, 1988, interview that the shooting occurred after a daylong drug binge during which he plotted to steal his parents’ jewelry to exchange for more drugs.

Although the relationship between the couple and their adopted son had been strained before the shootings, Pauline Terry had depicted David as being upbeat before the shootings took place.

During her testimony, Pauline Terry tearfully recalled the events on the night of the shooting. She identified Rodriguez as the assailant and told the jury: “I will never forget his eyes. . . . They had so much anger and hate--wild.”

Times staff writer Shelby Grad contributed to this report.