WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - A jury has convicted a Waterloo man of first-degree murder in what prosecutors described as the revenge killing of another man.
Raymond Birden Jr., 22, was found guilty Tuesday in the 2018 death of 22-year-old Shavondes Martin, who was acquitted earlier that year of killing Birden’s brother in 2016, the Courier reported.
Martin had been one of three people charged with the 2016 drive-by shooting of Birden’s brother, Otavious Brown. While Martin was acquitted, Doncorrion Spates was found guilty of murder and other counts in Brown’s death.
Prosecutors said Birden and Martin had been exchanging taunts online following Martin’s acquittal and that Birden enlisted the help of an ex-girlfriend who was also Martin’s cousin to find Martin on May 31, 2018. Martin was found dead hours later in a Waterloo alley. He had been shot a total of nine times with two guns.
The cousin, Danaesha Martin, also was arrested for her role in the killing and entered a plea agreement to lesser charges.
Birden faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
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