After a two and a half year process, Deandre Lee was found innocent of capital murder charges Thursday.

Defense attorney Vaughan Russell, who teamed with Gary Thompson on the case, said he was pleased to see his client and team’s persistence pay off.

“He had faith that the system would clear his name,” Russell said. “He never lost faith in the two and a half years of the process. He kept his faith and worked with us to develop his case.”

Throughout the case, Russell said changes in the stories of key witnesses helped convince the jury Lee was not the man responsible for the deaths of Ramon Hale and Davon Tyre and injuries to Ken Prevo.

Lee, who spent 27 months in Dallas County Jail on the charges, maintained throughout the process he was not responsible for the fatal shots, despite testimony from Prevo that he pulled the trigger.

During the case, Russell said Prevo’s stories were inconsistent on what happened Dec. 29, 2008 in the 1700 block of Griffin Avenue.

When authorities responded to the shooting, which took place between 7 and 7:30 a.m., at the corner of St. Phillips and Ann Street, they found two victims inside the car and another outside. One of the victims, Tyre, was dead on the scene. Hale died around 9 a.m. the next morning.

Prevo testified all of the shots were fired in the car, which Russell said, was inconsistent with evidence gathered at the scene.

“There was no blood in the drivers seat, but Prevo said everyone was shot in the car,” he said. “There was also no blood in the seat where Prevo said he was supposed to be sitting.”

A weapon was never recovered from the scene, Russell said, which also hurt the prosecution’s case. Three 9 mm shell casings were found in the car and four were found outside, however, it was never determined if that was the caliber used in the shooting.

All of the glass from the car also fell inside and had no blood on it, which Russell said also indicated the shots were fired from outside.

From the start, Russell said Lee was confident the evidence would prove his innocence.

“He turned himself in as soon as he heard his name was connected in the case because he knew the jury would rule in his favor,” he said. “We are pleased that he believed in the system.”

Unfortunately, Russell said, two men lost their lives.

“We grieve for the families who lost these young people,” he said. “These young men did not deserve to die.”

Repeated calls for comment from District Attorney Michael Jackson were not returned.