Man acquitted in Waterbury bar killing

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Waterbury man has been acquitted of all charges in connection with a 2011 fatal stabbing at a city bar.

A Waterbury Superior Court jury found 34-year-old Garland Hunter not guilty of murder and manslaughter Tuesday after deliberating for seven days. He was accused of killing 34-year-old Mikyle Frank at the now-defunct Kriola's Cafe on East Main Street.

The Republican-American reports that Hunter smiled and declared his innocence after the verdicts as he walked out of the courthouse a free man for the first time since being jailed on bond in November 2011.

Hunter was seen leaving the bar after Frank was stabbed.

But a key piece of potential evidence — recorded surveillance camera footage at the bar — was lost because police didn't preserve the cameras as evidence.

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Information from: Republican-American