It is somewhat surprising that the mass local or regional media did not pick up the story of the trial of Bill Wolfington.  After all, it would seem to have all of the elements.  When he was arrested and his story splashed across the news, there was his connection to the original West Sacramento gang injunction, where he was the sole party who was served by then-Deputy DA Jeff Reisig.

So why would his subsequent arrest on murder and gang charges - a case that was briefly considered as a possible death penalty case - not garner more coverage?  That will remain a mystery to me.

On Friday afternoon, following nearly three full days of deliberation on the two-and-a-half week, co-defendant murder trial, the jury delivered a split verdict - delivering a guilty verdict for Billy Wolfington of second degree murder  without the gang enhancement but acquitting co-defendant Shannon Silva.

The verdict can only been seen as a blow to the prosecution, who initially contemplated the death penalty, before seeking first degree murder charges on both defendants stemming from the September 2, 2011, stabbing death of 29-year-old Bobby Brittenum.

In the wake of last week's landmark decision by the Supreme Court on DNA databases that could allow police to take DNA samples from people arrested for possibly committing "serious" crimes, many justified the ruling as a way to protect the innocent and catch the guilty.

However, Justice Antonin Scalia and three of the court's liberal justices disagreed.  In a scathing dissent, Justice Scalia argued "solving crime is a noble objective but less important than protecting people from suspicionless searches.  Your DNA can be taken if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, for whatever reason."