PORTLAND — A Cumberland County jury on Tuesday acquitted a man who had been charged with robbery and felony murder in connection with a fatal shooting four years ago on Woodford Street.

Jonathan Geisinger, 48, has been on trial for the past week after waiting more than four years in jail. Tears filled his eyes following the not guilty ruling and he proceeded to embrace a loved one on his way out of the courtroom.

Geisinger was the last of four men arrested on charges related to the death of Derald “Darry” Coffin. Coffin was shot a little after 1 a.m. on April 26, 2022.

Loved ones of Coffin abruptly left the courtroom after the verdict was read.

Annabelle Hartnett, who was with Coffin at the time, was also shot but survived. She testified previously that she watched three strangers approach the parked car that Coffin was sitting in and demand he give them drugs and money.

Superior Court Justice John O’Neil told jurors they could only consider Geisinger’s felony murder charge if they had agreed he was guilty of robbery.

Felony murder is a law used to hold people responsible for any homicides that occur while carrying out another crime, including robbery, even if the defendant did not directly cause the death.

Following the verdict, Jon Gale, Geisinger’s attorney, emphasized that his client had long maintained their innocence.

“We believe the evidence that they had was insufficient, and the jury agreed,” Gale said. “This was a very complex case, and the jury had to absorb a great deal of information. We are very grateful for their work and their attention on this case.”

Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment after the trial concluded.

The other three defendants in the shooting have already pleaded or been to trial, including Damion Butterfield, who has admitted in court that he was the shooter. (Butterfield later attempted to withdraw his plea, which Maine’s supreme court denied; he is serving 35 years in prison.)

Even though Geisinger was not the shooter, prosecutors argued Tuesday that his involvement supported felony murder and robbery charges. Geisinger has pleaded not guilty to both counts and turned down a deal from prosecutors in 2024 that would have entailed 12 years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue told jurors that Geisinger drove the three other defendants that night, in what she repeatedly referred to as their “grab and go” plan to rob Coffin of drugs and money.

In the hours before the shooting, Bogue said, Geisinger kept in contact with a fourth defendant, Anthony “Bear” Osbourne, who had been with Coffin and Hartnett in their car. Osbourne pleaded guilty to one count of robbery in early 2024, and prosecutors have said previously they credit Osbourne with having set Coffin up.

“Jonathan Geisinger helped man the operation, he helped to transport the operation, and he was the owner of the gun used in the operation,” Bogue said. “All of that information certainly points to his awareness of what was going on, that it was a reasonable, foreseeable consequence … that people were going to get hurt. And someone could die.”

Geisinger declined Tuesday to testify in his own defense.

Gale, his attorney, argued that the state’s case relies on two unreliable witnesses: Hartnett and Thomas MacDonald, who was also charged in relation to the shooting. MacDonald pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of hindering apprehension, admitting that he hid the firearm that was used in the shooting. He testified against Geisinger, a childhood friend, as part of his plea deal.

All of the individuals involved that night — victims and defendants alike — suffered from substance use disorder and were actively using drugs in 2022, attorneys have said throughout trial.

Gale said pieces of Hartnett’s testimony in court were inconsistent with her earliest statements to police and the Portland Press Herald, and that her credibility was “altered by the drugs, by the trauma itself.”

Gale then told jurors that MacDonald’s statements to police also changed over time, and that it wasn’t until MacDonald was offered a plea deal that he implicated Geisinger.

MacDonald is the only witness who has specifically accused Geisinger of harming Coffin — by punching him. Hartnett testified she saw all three men attack Coffin, but Gale said she couldn’t recall each man’s specific actions.

“What happened to Derald Coffin is a horrible thing, and what happened to Annabelle Hartnett is a horrible thing, understood,” Gale said. “But that cannot even be a piece of your analysis regarding the facts. The state has to prove to you that beyond a reasonable doubt, that Tom is accurate in his descriptions of that evening.”