In a packed SF Superior Court room, SF filmmaker Kevin Epps was found not guilty of the murder of his one-time brother-in-law, but was still found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which comes with a three- to eleven-year prison sentence.

The murder trial of SF filmmaker Kevin Epps, best known for his critically acclaimed 2003 documentary film Straight Outta Hunters Point and co-creating the 2004 Showtime movie Sucker Free City with Spike Lee, concluded today in a SF Superior Court room. And NBC Bay Area reports that Epps was found not guilty of murder in the 2016 shooting and killing his own one-time brother-in-law Marcus Polk, who may or may not have been trespassing and threatening Epps’ family in their home at the time of the shooting. And that acquittal is surely a relief for Kevin Epps, as a guilty verdict could have put him in prison for life.


But as Mission Local points out, Epps was still found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. That charge describes a killing committed in a “sudden quarrel or heat of passion,” as Mission Local explains, and it could mean Epps still faces a prison sentence of three to eleven years.


"I just want to get back to some normalcy; this has been just too long," Epps told reporters and a crowd outside the courtroom, per NBC Bay Area. "The burden of this in your life has been so long, it's just been traumatizing."

Epps did indeed shoot and kill Marcus Polk in October 2016, and there has never been any dispute of that. Polk had made his way into Epps's family’s house in Glen Park on that day, at a time when Epps’s then-fiancée was Polk’s ex-wife’s sister. Polk was then-homeless and fresh out of jail on charges of lewd acts with a child, and was known to have serious drug issues. Epps said Polk was threatening him and his family, which led to the shooting.

Epps will still face those voluntary manslaughter charges, though his legal team vows to appeal that verdict. He was also found guilty of two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon, charges his legal team does not dispute.

Epps is out of custody until he’s sentenced for the voluntary manslaughter charges. NBC Bay Area reports that Epps will be sentenced on those charges within the next six weeks.

Related: Renowned SF Filmmaker Kevin Epps Went On Trial Today for 2016 Murder Charge [SFist]

Image: Kevin Epps via Facebook