LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) - One man has been convicted and another acquitted of murder in the 2014 killing of a father of four struck by a stray bullet during a gang dispute in Lawrence.
Prosecutors say 25-year-old Joshua Chevez, of Methuen, was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder, while co-defendant, 21-year-old Juan Castillo, of Lawrence, was cleared of murder but convicted of witness intimidation for threatening to kill a witness.
Prosecutors say in the early morning hours of August 17, 2014, Chevez went looking for revenge against a man he thought had shot his friend. He fired into a crowd at a party, striking 35-year-old Mark Trussell in the back of the head. He died at the hospital days later.
Authorities say Castillo acted as Chevez’s lookout.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 18.
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