WINNIPEG- Family and friends of murder victim Jospeh Lalonde softly whispered “yes” as two teens were found guilty of second degree murder Wednesday.
The pair were just 15 when when they brutally attacked Lalonde, beating him to death with a baseball bat in the yard of his Dufferin Avenue home in August 2011, while he tried to protect his pregnant daughter.
Prosecutors argued that the teens came armed with a bat and air rifle to confront a member of a rival street gang, but instead accosted Lalonde’s daughter.
Neither of the victims had any connections with street gangs.
They had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The crown will be seeking to sentence them as adults. Second degree murder comes with life in prison – but adults can’t apply for parole until at least ten years is served. If sentenced as youth the maximum amount of time served would be seven years.
The sentencing date has not been set.
The jury had been deliberating since Tuesday afternoon.
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