Prosecutors rest in Jackson County murder trial

Jurors in a Jackson County murder trial will be tasked not with determining whether an area man shot and killed another person, but whether he was justified in doing so. 37-year-old Brian A. Manning of rural Maquoketa, is charged in Iowa District Court of Jackson County with second-degree murder in the fatal 2022 shooting of Maquoketa resident 60-year-old Michael Berg. The case began Monday with jury selection. Testimony began Tuesday, where prosecutors called a total of six witnesses before resting their case. Prosecutors argued Manning “willfully and deliberately” shot and killed Berg on Nov. 2, 2022, while the defense countered that Manning only did so after failed attempts to stop an intoxicated Berg from attacking Manning’s father, Bruce Manning.