A Dayton man was found guilty of murder and felonious assault in the September 2013 shooting death of Martell Gray.
A Montgomery County Common Pleas Court jury late Monday afternoon found Lynntonio Watson, 27, guilty of two counts of murder and six counts of felonious assault. Watson also faced a count of having weapons under disability. Judge Barbara Gorman scheduled Watson's sentencing for Aug. 13.
Prosecutors said Watson shot and killed Gray, 19, and also fired gunshots that injured Shamarr Bodine and Robert Wood near Dayton's Whitney Young Estates on Sept. 7, 2013.
In opening statements, Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Tony Schoen said Bodine and Wood identified Watson in photographs, but only Bodine signed his name to it. Schoen said Wood, while still in a hospital, signed a form that said he would not participate in the prosecution of the crime. Schoen said Wood did point to Watson's photo, but did not circle it or sign his name.
A cell phone and ammunition were found with Watson when he was arrested at the McDonald's on Main Street in Dayton, Schoen said. The prosecutor also said Watson denied owning the phone, but that phone records included calls from the area of the homicide and calls to Watson's wife.
In his opening statements, defense attorney J. Allen Wilmes said the state had no gun and no motive.
Watson turned down a plea deal before the trial. Wilmes sought to limit any mention of Watson's "Hooskal for Life" tattoo. Local law enforcement officials say the Hooskal Clique is part of the Dayton View Hustler gang that employs the "top predator" style of robbing other drug dealers. Hooskal is a slang term for someone who takes without asking.
