By Associated Press - Thursday, May 4, 2017

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A Columbia man has been convicted of killing two men in what prosecutors say was a drug deal gone bad.

The Boone County jury on Thursday found 26-year-old Darious Lucas guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action.

He was accused of killing 42-year-old James Richardson and 42-year-old Kenneth Long, whose bodies were found in September 2015 at the abandoned El Ray Trailer Park just outside Columbia city limits.

Lucas will be sentenced June 19. First-degree murder convictions carry mandatory life sentences without parole. Lucas is already serving a six-year sentence for drug trafficking.

Boone County District Defender David Wallis said he will seek a new trial.

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