A Chesterfield County jury this afternoon found 18-year-old Detavis King guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of teen Ryan Matko nearly two years ago. King also was found guilty of using a firearm in a felony.
The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated just under two hours before returning the verdict.
Earlier, prosecutors argued in closing statements that King was the only person who had had the gun that was used to kill Matko on the day the teen was slain nearly two years ago.
Prosecutor Warren Von Schuch said the only thing authorities don't know is whether Matko pleaded for his life as King bent down with a pistol, placed it to Matko's temple and pulled the trigger.
"This was a low-down, nasty killing," Von Schuch said.
Speaking to the jury, Von Schuch said Matko had a shoebox containing $440 and a drug scale with him when he met King in an isolated area about 300 yards from where King lived. King knew Matko had money and was going to charge him $300 for a quarter-pound of marijuana, the prosecutor said.
The shoebox was later found empty in the trunk of Matko's abandoned car, not far from where his body was found in August 2007. Only five $1 bills were found in the box.
Defense attorney Greg Sheldon countered that "we are no closer to knowing what happened that day" than when the trial began on Monday. Sheldon said prosecutors "want you to guess at what happened," when in reality there is no solid physical evidence linking King to the slaying.
"Nothing ties him to the scene. Nothing ties him to the car. There is no DNA evidence or fingerprints," Sheldon said.
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