Joey Gingerella's family and friends had considered his final actions heroic.

The 24-year-old Groton man had stepped in, along with others, to stop another patron of Ryan's Pub, Dante A. Hughes, from battering his girlfriend in the parking lot of the Fort Hill Road bar on Dec. 11, 2016. His willingness to get involved cost "Jo Jo Nice," a former local baseball star who had gone public with his addiction to pain pills, his life.

Hughes pulled out a 9-mm pistol, aimed for Gingerella's chest and fired three shots, according to testimony at his murder trial this month in New London Superior Court. Gingerella was pronounced dead within the hour. Hughes fled and was captured two days later as he attempted to walk across the Rainbow International Bridge in Niagara Falls into Canada.

The victim's family said they thought a murder conviction was "a home run" when the case went to trial earlier this month in New London Superior Court. But the jury sent signals Wednesday, on the second full day of deliberations, that it was struggling to reach a unanimous decision. The jurors indicated at 11:22 a.m. on Thursday that they had found Hughes not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm with reckless indifference for human life.

The victim's stepfather, Joe de la Cruz, who had raised Gingerella from a young age, said outside the courtroom that the jury sent a loud and clear message, even if it wasn't their intent, that people should not be as willing as Gingerella was to help someone in distress.

"It's a 'mind your business' type of decision in my mind," said de la Cruz, a state representative and former Groton town councilor.

The jury noted on its verdict form its conclusion that the state had disproved, beyond a reasonable doubt, Hughes' claim that he shot Gingerella in self-defense.

Gingerella's mother, Tammy de la Cruz, felt she had not received the outcome that had inspired a #justiceforjoey movement among his wide circle of friends. Earlier in the day Thursday she had commented that the date, July 26, could be an indicator of a good outcome, since her son's favorite number, one he wore on his baseball jerseys, was 26.

She couldn't speak through her tears following the verdict.

Also attending the trial and teary-eyed over the verdict was Gingerella's sister, Kayla, who is expecting her first child, a boy, in September and plans to name him after her brother.

Hughes faces up to 50 years in prison at his Oct. 4 sentencing, despite the family's disappointment that he wasn't found guilty of murder. The manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years because a firearm was involved. Hughes also was convicted Thursday of criminal possession of a firearm, a charge with a 10-year maximum sentence that was decided separately by Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed so that the jurors would not be unduly prejudiced by learning Hughes could not legally own a gun due to his criminal history.

Public records indicate he was convicted of unlawfully carrying a weapon, a misdemeanor, in Houston, Texas, in 2005, and had felony drug convictions in Louisiana and Texas in 2006 and 2010.

Mothers share a hug

Over the past two weeks, large numbers of supporters sat with Gingerella's family in the chilly courtroom on Huntington Street in New London, including members of Community Speaks Out, the nonprofit organization the de la Cruzes had started to help others who struggled, as Gingerella did, with opioid addiction.

Though toxicology testing performed after his death indicated Gingerella had been smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, his family found some comfort when they learned there were no opioids in his system.

Hughes' mother, pastor Angela Mims from Houston, Texas, also sat through the entire trial, sometimes accompanied by a sister or other loved ones and often sitting quietly with a Bible. She previously had reached out to Tammy de la Cruz, but it was not until Wednesday, during the tense hours of waiting for a verdict in the crowded courtroom hallway, that the two mothers came together, hugging each other and sobbing.

Mims also cried when she heard the verdict and said she was too upset to comment. One observer had pointed out in the parking lot that nobody had won, saying, "Would you rather go to Heaven (like the victim) or jail (like the newly convicted killer)?"

Prosecutor Paul J. Narducci, Victim Advocate Stephanie Barber and others from the state's attorney's office met with Gingerella's family to explain the next process, which is providing input as the Department of Adult Probation conducts a presentencing investigation of Hughes and preparing, if they choose, to deliver victim impact statements at the sentencing.

"They'll never find closure but, hopefully, this is one more step along the grieving process," said Narducci, who had tried the case with Prosecutor Christa L. Baker and Inspector Rhett D'Amico.

Defense attorney Walter D. Hussey said it was a difficult case, with a lot of emotion and sadness for everyone involved.

"Given the facts and circumstances, I think the jury did the right thing," he said.

k.florin@theday.com