Former Alorton mayor's son convicted of 2 murders

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - The son of a former mayor of the southern Illinois city of Alorton has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for a 2009 double homicide.

A St. Clair County jury delivered the verdict Thursday against Randy McCallum Jr., and was quickly escorted out the courtroom afterward. McCallum's father, former Alorton Mayor of Randy McCallum Sr., mother, family members and friends were in the courtroom.

The verdict marked the second time the 26-year-old McCallum was tried in the killings of Charles Black and Kevin McVay in Washington Park. A mistrial was declared in 2013 after a jury deadlocked.

Assistant States Attorney Debbie Phillips, in her closing argument, told jurors that Black, while dying, named McCallum as the killer. Jurors also heard a recorded conversation during which McCallum told his stepmother, Gwendolyn McCallum, that he was "a thug" and "I did what I had to do."

McCallum is scheduled to be sentenced April 14.