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Roxbury man convicted in 2007 murder

E-mail|Link|Comments () December 4, 2009 02:57 PM

By Globe Staff

A 20-year-old Roxbury man was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges today for executing a cold-blooded plan to shoot the first people he and an accomplice encountered as they walked into a Roxbury housing development in 2007, prosecutors said.

Demetrius Wardsworth was convicted in Suffolk Superior Court in the murder of Urel Duncan, 29, and the wounding of Duncan's friend, 19 at the time, who was sitting with Duncan on the stoop at 60-62 Codman Park on Sept. 20, 2007, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.

"The jury followed the facts, applied the law, and found the defendant guilty of murder," said Conley.

In addition to the murder charge, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole, Wardsworth was convicted of armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm. Wardsworth is to be sentenced at 10 a.m. Monday.

Wardsworth's alleged accomplice, Shawn "Shanks" Daughtry, will be tried next year, prosecutors said.

Neither Duncan nor his friend, who were enjoying the fall evening at the New Academy Estates development, were involved in gangs, drugs, violence, or any crime, prosecutors said. And they had never met their attackers.