AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio teen faces life in prison with
no chance of parole for his role in killing and robbing three men and
trying to kill a fourth in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme.
Prosecutors
in the weeks-long trial painted 17-year-old Brogan Rafferty as a quick
student of violence and a willing participant in three killings, while
the defense argued he was acting under the duress of his alleged
accomplice, a self-styled chaplain depicted as a mentor.
Rafferty was found guilty Tuesday on the fourth day of jury deliberations in an Akron court.
Authorities
say Rafferty, of Stow, helped Richard Beasley, of Akron, lure four
victims at separate times with bogus Craigslist job offers to a
nonexistent cattle farm in rural Noble County in southeast Ohio; they
say the motive was robbery. Authorities say Beasley shot and killed
three of the men; the fourth victim was shot in the arm and survived.
Rafferty
stood with his hands clasped behind his back and showed no emotion as
the verdicts were read. His mother leaned over and cried softly.
Led
from the courtroom, Rafferty shook his head and said, "Nothing to say."
He didn’t respond to reporters’ questions about the verdict.
Prosecutors
and the defense, who are under a gag order, didn’t comment afterward.
The father of victim Timothy Kern flashed a "thumbs up" after the
verdicts were read but declined to comment when he left the courtroom.
Jury
forewoman Dana Nash and other jurors said it was a difficult decision
because of the boy’s age, calling him "a child" on a couple of
occasions.
Jurors said they worked on the 25 charges against
Rafferty one by one, with the most difficult one involving evidence
surrounding the death of the first victim, Ralph Geiger. Rafferty was
acquitted of a single identity theft charge involving Geiger.
Jurors
debated each charge and often reviewed their own notes and evidence
presented at trial, including audio interviews Rafferty gave
investigators.
Nash said they were skeptical of some of Rafferty’s
testimony, saying they felt as if he contradicted himself at points, as
well as in his interviews with investigators.
"We were trying to
be fair, and we were fair," Nash said afterward. "We listened to
everything, we observed everything, and we feel we made the right
decision."
Rafferty had testified that he didn’t want to be a part
of such violence and said he went along with the plan only because he
feared for his life.
Rafferty was tried as an adult but faces a
maximum potential sentence of life in prison because he is a juvenile.
His sentencing is set for Nov. 5.
Beasley, 53, has pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty if convicted at his separate trial.

The
man who survived, 49-year-old Scott Davis of South Carolina, had
testified as the prosecution’s star witness, identifying Rafferty as
Beasley’s accomplice and telling a harrowing story of survival.
During
Rafferty’s trial, defense attorney John Alexander painted Beasley as
the mastermind and said that the first killing came without warning for
Rafferty, who "had no idea any of this was going on."
After the
first killing, Alexander said that Beasley warned Rafferty to keep quiet
and cooperate by reminding him that he knew where his mother and sister
lived.
Prosecutor Emily Pelphrey told jurors that Rafferty chose
to participate in the killings, saying he was a "student of violent
crime."
"He made the choices he wanted to make," she said.
Prosecutors
also showed jurors photographs of a suitcase filled with weapons found
in Rafferty’s bedroom, including a sawed-off shotgun, a .22-caliber
pistol, two knives and ammunition. None of the weapons was conclusively
linked to any of the three killings.
Jurors also were shown photos
of the graves of the three men killed in the plot and said they were
just trying to improve their lives and find work.
The three men
were Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Kern,
47, of Massillon. Authorities say they were targeted because they were
older, single, out-of-work men with backgrounds that made it unlikely
their disappearances would be noticed right away.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.