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CHESAPEAKE
A jury has found a Chesapeake man guilty of killing Morgan W. Young and wounding Joshua Heidbrink, two Mormon missionaries shot nearly three years ago while proselytizing door-to-door in the city.
The jury returned the verdicts Friday night against James Boughton Jr., 22, after deliberating more than two days in Chesapeake Circuit Court.
Judge Randy Smith asked the jury to return Monday morning for the sentencing phase of the trial.
The jury found Boughton guilty of first-degree murder, malicious wounding, attempted malicious wounding and three counts of use of a firearm. Boughton, a Camelot resident, faces the possibility of life in prison.
Boughton, in suit and tie, stood in court as the verdict was read, with no outward sign of emotion. He was 19, a recent graduate from Deep Creek High School, at the time of his arrest for the crime.
Young and Heidbrink were in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake proselytizing the night of Jan. 2, 2006, as a violent neighborhood dispute was unfolding. A hooded gunman had attempted to shoot an Elkhart Street resident, Gregory Banks Jr., and was fleeing the area when he crossed paths with the missionaries.
The missionaries assured the approaching gunman that they hadn't seen anything, according to court testimony. The gunman, armed with a 9 mm gun, shot them both and fled.
Young, 21, of Bountiful, Utah, died of a wound to the head. Heidbrink, then 19, from Greeley, Colo., managed to go for help at the nearby Charity House.
Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr and Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney D.J. Hansen used DNA evidence and the testimony of a Chesapeake teen to link Boughton to the crime. The surviving victims, Heidbrink and Banks, were unable to identify the hooded gunman.
Boughton's defense attorney, Andrew Sacks, argued his client was at a friend's house in Camelot playing video games the night of the shootings. He produced several witnesses who supported the alibi.
Sacks argued in court that the real shooter that night was Mario Felton, a 17-year-old who was feuding with Banks over $80 in drug money. Felton initially told police he was the one who fired the 9 mm weapon three times that night, but later told police he made the story up to cover for Boughton.
The trial started Nov. 10 with a lengthy jury selection process that lasted three days. Because of widespread pretrial publicity, Sacks had asked that the trial be moved out of Chesapeake. That motion was denied.
John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com
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missionary killing
My son was serving on a mission when this horrible event took place. He knew and was friends with both missionaries. It is surprising to me how long this took to go to trial. I will never forget the phone call we got from church officials telling us of the shooting and that it was NOT our son who was shot and died. Our son insisted they call us because he knew we would be worried. He lived ten minutes from where the shooting took place. Members of the shooters family did try to say after the shooting that their son was a good boy and never got into trouble. Right and what planet did they live on? Anyway... I hope the shooter does some serious time in jail.
No fan of the death penalty
I am no fan of the death penalty, but if there was ever a crime that should qualify for it, this seems to be it.
death penalty
whatever happened to the death penalty. if you kill someone, you should die. now.
The Real Crime.....
is that these were Mormon or LDS missionaries. Forget about their politics or religion, and these are the most polite and upstanding men you could ever hope to meet. A true crime and a just verdict.....
Death penalty for the
Death penalty for the murderer plz.
interesting....
there seemd to be a lot of evidence in this case...but it took several days for the jury to come to a verdict....it would be interesting to see the jury makeup..
Ellipsoid, our legs are long enough
Ellipsoid said, "white America got its OJ Dread Scott decision. Invited to a set up auction by a friend, convicted for stealing his own stuff."
After hearing OJ commit his crime on tape, no one would believe that he didn't do it. Ellipsoid can't possibly be racist enough to believe that OJ is innocent simply because he is black. I think Ellipsoid is white, and is simply trying to get white people angry enough to respond to his letters. In other words, he’s trolling us.
You can stop pulling our legs, now, Ellipsoid. They're long enough.
life
Mario Felton testified that he and Boughton went to Banks house together and hid in wait. The result was one dead mormon, one wounded mormon and a missed shot at banks. Felton then took the gun and hid it in a nearby garage. Why hasn't Felton been charged for the same crimes brought against Boughton? Aren't they equally guilty with the sole exception that Boughton was the triggerman?
Will the alibi witnesses that testified Boughton was visiting them, be prosecuted for perjury?
On the night of the shootings, Boughton was out on bail having been arrested on a drug charge. If he hadn't been out on bail, he would have been in jail from where he could not have fired shots on Elkhart Street. After the shootings, he was tried and acquitted on the drug charge.
Who was the prosecutor that let him out on bail? Who was the judge or magistrate who let him out on bail?
they didn't mention when the
they didn't mention when the the trial of the several liars (witnesses) would be.
good kid
Come on, where are all the bleeding hearts? You know, the ones who always poke their heads up when a verdict like this one is handed down; the ones who usually state "he was a good kid, he has a good heart, this isn't the kid I know, he was abused etc"......shall I continue?