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Flint man, 19, convicted in fatal shootings of boy, 9, 2 men

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - A jury has found a 19-year-old Flint man guilty of first degree murder for gunning down two men and then a 9-year-old boy who witnessed the killings.

The Genesee County Circuit Court jury convicted Deonte I. Gray for the July 15, 2013, shootings of 9-year-old Trashawn Macklin, 25-year-old James R. Allen Jr. and 22-year-old Akeem Easterling.

Authorities say the killings began with a dispute between Gray and Easterling at Park West Apartment.

Gray faces an automatic penalty of life in prison without possibility of parole when he's sentenced March 2.

Defense lawyer Major White has said the killings weren't premeditated and didn't rise to the level of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors earlier dropped a fourth murder charge against Gray in the 2013 killing of 29-year-old Greg Watkins because a witness disappeared.

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