Post by Admin on May 28, 2015 0:22:08 GMT
May 27, 2015
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A suspected gang member was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2010 Halloween shooting death of a 5-year-old boy wearing a Spider-Man costume in South Los Angeles.
Four witnesses identified 26-year-old Leonard Hall, Jr. as the man who shot and killed 5-year-old Aaron Shannon, Jr. on Oct. 31, 2010.
The boy's father Aarron Shannon says the past few years have "been hell."
"It was just me and him. That's pretty much all I knew. That was my little man. Now, I have to live with this until the day I die," Shannon said.
The jury, comprised of four women and eight men, deliberated for four full days before reaching the verdict Wednesday morning.
Hall's defense attorney Carol Ojo says the jury was deadlocked as recently as Tuesday, leading her to believe that some of the jurors were pressured to deliver a guilty verdict.
"I believe there are some people who will not be sleeping well tonight because of this verdict, because it's not based on their individual feeling," Ojo said.
In addition to second-degree murder, Hall was also convicted of two counts of attempted murder for wounding the Shannon's uncle and grandfather during the shooting.
The judge also found the allegation that he used a firearm true and that the crime was committed on benefit, direction or to further assist criminal street gang activity.
Two previous trials in this case ended with dead-locked juries.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 21.