Defense attorneys described the officers as scapegoats inside a department that had been buffeted by the changing policies of several police commissioners in recent years.
Taking the case to trial posed an enormous risk for King and Murray. They rejected an earlier plea deal with prosecutors, prompting additional charges to be filed by the government.
In a rare move, King and Murray each took the witness stand in his own defense. But their expansive accounts of unorthodox police tactics went largely uncorroborated by other witnesses. Experts testifying for the prosecution described King and Murray's techniques as a violation of department rules, if not crimes.
Now the former partners face dismissal from the department and hundreds of years in prison.
On the 13 gun possession charges alone, federal law requires that King receive a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 305 years, according to prosecutors' calculations. They expect Murray to face no less than 130 years in prison for his six gun-related convictions.
matthew.dolan@baltsun.com
