LOCKHART, Texas – A Texas man has been convicted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Moroccan immigrant who had pulled into the driveway.
A Caldwell County jury on Thursday rejected a murder charge and convicted 67-year-old Terry Duane Turner of the lesser count in the October 2021 shooting death of 31-year-old Adil Dghoughi outside Turner’s home in Martindale, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Austin.
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Family members of Dghoughi, who lived in Austin, have said he was lost and prosecutors said he was trying to leave the driveway when he was shot.
Turner said he shot in self-defense and testified that he thought Dghoughi pointed a gun at him, but no weapon was found inside the vehicle. Turner testified that he was concerned someone was trying to rob or harm him when he saw a strange vehicle in his driveway about 3:30 a.m., grabbed a gun and then went outside to confront the driver,
Defense attorney Gerry Morris said that that although Turner couldn’t see Dghoughi through the car’s windows, it was reasonable for Turner to believe the driver might have a gun.
“Based on what he saw, knowing all the circumstances, he was reasonable in his actions,” Morris said during the trial. “He pulled the trigger. He regrets it. He’ll regret it all his life.”
Morris declined comment following the verdict.
Turner faces 2 to 20 years in prison when sentenced.
Dghoughi came to the U.S. in 2012 from Morocco and attended Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, where he graduated with a master’s degree in business administration and finance, family members have said.
Dghoughi then moved to Austin and was seeking work as a financial analyst, according to his family.