Andrew Huck
Published: September 25, 2008

WATERLOO — The verdict is in. A jury had found Kenyatta Harlston guilty of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of Nicholas Blackburn, 24, in August 2007 outside a bar on Central Avenue in downtown Dubuque.

Harlston’s attorneys tried to get the judge to declare a mistrial after a witness said a juror looked like one of the men involved in the fight that left Blackburn dead. The judge dismissed the motion. The defense argued that Harlston was acting in self-defense.

Harlston’s sentence is tentatively scheduled for November in Dubuque. He faces up to 50 years in prison.

Andrew Huck can be reached at Andrew.Huck@loras.edu