Brandon Craig was accused of killing three teenagers in the East Mountains in 1999.

A jury just came back and found him not guilty on all charges. Full coverage of East Mountain Triple Slayings as reported in the Journal.

Check back here for more details. 

 From The Associated Press

A man accused in the fatal shootings of three teenagers in the mountains east of Albuquerque nearly 10 years ago was found not guilty Wednesday of murder and other charges.

Brandon Craig, 29, had been accused of gunning down Matthew Hunt and Kevin Shirley, both 17, and Luis Garcia, 16, as they were returning from a graduation party on May 29, 1999.

Jurors deliberated for two days before reaching their verdict Wednesday. Craig had faced three counts of first-degree murder and three child abuse charges.

The victims' family members cried as the verdict was read and then quickly left the courtroom. Craig showed no emotion but his parents embraced.

Defense attorneys had argued that investigators pinned the murders on Craig and pressured the witnesses, who they said could not be relied upon for the government's burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defense team called the investigation a "fantasy," saying the witnesses' testimony was inconsistent.

The prosecution's witnesses - Craig's former girlfriend Jocelyn Schneider, best friend Jeff Moore and cousin Luke Morris - testified they saw Craig repeatedly fire a rifle into a car with the three teenagers inside.

"You don't have to like Luke Morris, Jocelyn Schneider or Jeff Moore," Deputy District Attorney David Waymire told jurors during closing arguments. But he urged them to keep in mind that Schneider and Morris were 16 and Moore was 19 at the time and had been told they would suffer the same fate if they came forward.

"Although they were not commendable in their actions or inactions ... they are at least to be commended for finally coming forward," he said. "Their fear subsided a little over time."

But David Kaplan, one of Craig's attorneys, reiterated during his closing arguments that the testimony of the three was inconsistent with previous statements, with each other and with the facts.

"The basis of this case - the heart of testimony from Jocelyn, Jeff and Luke - has to do with something that witnesses demonstrated never occurred," Kaplan said.

Prosecutors had alleged that the slayings occurred as a result of a drug debt owed to Schneider.