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Peoria man guilty of murder in shooting death at house party

Posted February 11, 2015 10:00 pm

The Associated Press

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - A 38-year-old Peoria man has been convicted of fatally shooting a state lawmaker's stepson at a house party last spring.

Jurors deliberated for about an hour Wednesday before finding Sean T. Walls guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 22-year old Derrick Booth Jr. He was the stepson of Democratic Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and the son of Manual Academy basketball coach Derrick Booth Sr.

The (Peoria) Journal Star (http://bit.ly/1B0Llct ) reports Booth was fatally shot in the chest during an argument with Booth on the home's front porch.

Prosecutors argued Walls shot Booth because he wanted to impress his friends and was insulted Booth wouldn't sell marijuana to him at a discounted price.

Walls claimed Booth initially pulled out a handgun, which went off when he acted in self-defense.

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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com

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