A 76-year-old man who shot and killed his teenage neighbor in May 2012 was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree intentional homicide.
John Henry Spooner of Milwaukee, Wisconsin fatally shot 13-year-old Darius Simmons because he thought the teenage boy had broken into his home and stolen his weapons, which he claims meant a lot to him. Spooner showed no signs of remorse or guilt for what he did and even testified that he thought the shooting was justice.
Spooner’s surveillance videos that he had set up in his home are the strongest evidence against him. News Max reports that in the video Spooner can clearly be seen holding up his shotgun to Simmons’ chest, shooting once and attempting but missing a second shot as the boy ran. Simmons died moments later while his mother watched the entire scene.
According to The Associated Press Spooner pled not guilty to the homicide charge and then not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, which splits the trial up into two parts. Spooner was found guilty for the first part of the trial Wednesday, but now the judge will determine if he was mentally competent during the shooting.
Franklyn Gimbel, Spooner’s defense attorney, argued that the murder was reckless but not intentional because he did not mean to kill Simmons when he shot him. The jury denied this soon after.