A jury acquitted a Gary man Wednesday night for killing a man inside a car. The man’s body was found near 6th Avenue and Maryland Street.

Joseph T. Durden, 36, of Indianapolis was charged with murder in 29-year-old Keith Daniel’s July 19, 2020 death.

Jurors deliberated for less than four hours.

Police were called at 9 p.m. in July 2020 to the 1800 block of Connecticut Street, where they found a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero riddled with bullet holes, according to court records.

During opening arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said Durden quickly became a suspect.

The car was traced to Durden. A shell casing found there matched the ones extracted from Daniel, documents show.

Defense lawyer John Cantrell, representing Durden with co-counsel Nick Barnes, said Thursday there were multiple gaps in the evidence and he believed the police investigation was incomplete.

“I think it was an unanswered question,” Cantrell said.

Three different spots in the car had a third man’s DNA, who was never identified, Cantrell said. There were “at least two other suspects” including a man whose identification card was found in the car. He wasn’t interviewed by the cops, he said.

On Tuesday, a woman was brought in handcuffs and a green jail jumpsuit to testify. She had been arrested to compel her to show up after she failed to appear for a deposition.

She denied remembering the event. In her videotaped police interview, she said she saw Daniel on the ground after he had been shot.

“She was the best witness they had,” Cantrell said. “She didn’t see anything, either.”

mcolias@post-trib.com