Jury acquits Sugar Grove man in sword attack By DAN CAMPANA July 13, 2005 AURORA BEACON NEWS ST. CHARLES — Ray Wilson began Tuesday by telling jurors how he fought to protect his life from an admitted drug addict who attacked him last November. The day concluded with those jurors acquitting 48-year-old Wilson of armed violence for striking 33-year-old David Suthard with a samurai sword Nov. 8, 2004, inside Wilson's Sugar Grove home. The jury of four men and eight women deliberated for less than two hours before delivering the verdict around 6 p.m. "He is very grateful and very happy to be acquitted," said Kathleen Colton, Wilson's attorney. Minutes after the verdict, Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Amy Engerman said prosecutors were "obviously disappointed" by the jury's decision. Four of Wilson's relatives offered quick gasps of excitement after the court clerk announced the verdict. Outside the courtroom, Wilson's family members said they were pleased. The two-day trial left jurors to decide whether Wilson or Suthard offered the more credible version of events that left Suthard with a 6-inch-long scar on the left side of his face. Both Engerman and Colton described their particular witness' testimonies as being solid. During testimony Monday, Suthard said he became acquainted with Wilson at an Aurora drug house where they smoked crack cocaine. Wilson said he visited the house only for business purposes. Specifically, Wilson recounted how he tried to secure a contract to do work on the house. He met Suthard over the course of several visits, the last being while three or four men beat Suthard because of a drug debt. After that event, Wilson allowed Suthard "to crash" at the Sugar Grove home Wilson received in a divorce settlement. With the promise of future employment from Wilson, Suthard did work around the house during his approximately week-long stay, Wilson testified. The Nov. 8 incident began when Wilson awoke to find Suthard rifling through a dresser drawer, Wilson said. Suthard told jurors he was summoned to the bedroom. Wilson claimed he was only defending himself — by using the blunt, flat side of the sword that has a 2-foot blade — during the bedroom altercation after Suthard bit down on his neck near the jugular vein. After punching Suthard in the head and body, Wilson grabbed the sword. He first struck Suthard's head with the sword handle, before pointing the blade toward Suthard's ribs. "I didn't ram it in, because I didn't want to kill the fool," Wilson said. "I was in fear for my life because he was going for a knife." "Ray's story was pretty much unchallenged," Colton said later. Wilson remains in Kane County Jail on an unrelated aggravated battery charge, which Colton described as "stupid," relating to a jailhouse incident. He will appear in court on that case Friday.