Despite fingerprint match, man accused of burglary found guilty of lesser charge

CEDAR RAPIDS - A jury only took about 45 minutes Wednesday to convict a man - who was originally charged with burglarizing a home and stealing guns in 2013 - with the lesser charge of criminal trespassing.

Aaron L. Ray, 21, of Cedar Rapids faces 30 days in jail for the simple misdemeanor. He was acquitted of trafficking in stolen weapons.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Mary Chicchelly didn't set a bond and released Ray pending sentencing. No sentencing date was set.

Tyler Johnston, Ray's attorney, said in his opening statement Tuesday that there was no evidence to convict Ray. There was no evidence Ray entered the home and 'every time and in every way” investigators asked him about the burglary he denied it.

According to a criminal complaint, Ray was accused of burglarizing the home of Martin Ennor at 513 Memorial Dr. SE while Ennor, his wife and two children were present on the night of Nov. 19 or early Nov. 20, 2013. A shotgun and a .22 caliber rifle were taken from the home.

First Assistant Linn County attorney Nick Maybanks countered in his opening, saying there was evidence that Ray committed the crime, including a fingerprint taken from the inside of a fitness watch box that was removed from the home.

'There's no logical reason why the defendant's print is on a watch box,” Maybanks said. 'Police asked the defendant if he had ever been in the home or was he there that night. He said no, and in fact he said he had never been in that neighborhood.”

Maybanks said when Ray was confronted about the fingerprint, he never claimed it wasn't possible or offered another explanation. He only asked, 'Then why am I not under arrest?”

Johnston pointed out during the trial that the fitness watch was still in the box and the box was found in the yard.

Ennor, 29, now of Coggon, testified he and his wife and two children ages 2 and 8, went to bed about 9 p.m. Nov. 19, 2013. A fan and television were left on that night, a usual practice, and he wasn't aware they had been burglarized until he got up about 5:45 a.m. He found the side door of the house and a door of his Jeep Cherokee open.

The decorated war veteran, who was medically discharged for injuries suffered during a 2012 deployment to Afghanistan, said a shotgun and combat knife were missing from the vehicle and a .22-caliber rifle was missing from the basement.

A fitness watch, which was always kept on the fireplace mantel in the original box, also was missing. He found the watch in the box, along with one of his hunting bags, in the yard.

Ron Johnson, a Cedar Rapids police identification officer and certified latent print examiner, testified he was able to get a latent print on the inside of the watch box, which matched Ray's right middle finger.