Jury convicts Fort Wayne man of 3 counts of murder in 2018 shootings

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A jury convicted on Friday a Fort Wayne man of three counts of murder in what prosecutors said were the execution-style slayings of three other men nearly five years ago.

Jacquail Belcher, 30, also was found guilty of a firearm enhancement, which could add 20 years to the sentence of up to 195 years he faces in the shooting deaths of Dernail Brown, 26; DeShaun Richards, 25; and Breondon Pinkston, 28, on June 28, 2018.

Police have said they found Brown on a sidewalk just north of downtown Fort Wayne and rushed him to a hospital where he died. Later, officers discovered Richards and Pinkston fatally shot inside a car.

Allen County Deputy Prosecutor Tom Chaille said eyewitness accounts, DNA evidence suggesting Belcher was the shooter and conflicting accounts of his alibi showed he was the killer.

However, Eric Gardner, Belcher’s attorney, told jurors that several witnesses could not positively identify his client from a photo array. Eyewitnesses said the shooter was tall with a dark complexion, but Belcher is fair-skinned and 5-foot-5, the attorney said.

The motive for the shootings wasn’t clear.

Belcher is scheduled to be sentenced July 6.