NEW HAVEN >> Given a case with no forensic evidence and prosecution witnesses with shady histories, a jury Monday found Larry Johnson not guilty of murder in the 2011 shooting death of Edward Andrew Thompson.

The 12 Superior Court jurors needed just 2½ hours to reach their decision. They also found Johnson, 34, of 121 Pine St., not guilty of carrying a pistol without a permit.

Thompson, 37, was shot in front of dozens of witnesses in the middle of Grand Avenue on Oct. 13, 2011, at about 12:30 a.m. But those witnesses either didn’t want to cooperate with police or could not see the shooter because his face was obscured by a hood and it was dark outside.