Two men charged in the death of a bystander in Middle River during a drug deal gone bad were found guilty Tuesday in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
A jury deliberated for more than four hours before finding that Warren J. Yates, 27, of Dundalk and Donald S. Kohler, 29, of Joppatowne were responsible for the death of Shirley Worcester, 58, who was hit by a stray bullet on Jan. 7 while standing in her driveway talking with relatives who had just returned from church.
Prosecutor John Cox said that Kohler, in the act of buying marijuana from Yates in a house a block from Worcester's, had handed over what appeared to be $4,400 in cash, but was actually a roll of fake money with a $100 bill showing on the outside.
"Don't let him leave until I count the money," Yates told others in the house on South Hawthorne Road, the prosecutor said. Kohler ran off anyway, holding a trash bag containing 4 pounds of marijuana, and Yates gave chase, firing two shots as Kohler ran across Worcester's lawn, Cox said.
One shot punctured Worcester's chest, the other a tree.
"I've been hit," Worcester said, according to the prosecutor, recalling the testimony of the woman's in-laws. She was carrying discarded Christmas decorations to her trash cans when the shots rang out, and she was pronounced dead later at a hospital.
Yates, who was convicted of five charges, including second-degree murder, use of a handgun in a violent crime and distribution of marijuana, is to be sentenced Dec. 7. Kohler, who dropped the bag as he fled, was convicted of second-degree murder and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He is to be sentenced Nov. 3.
A third man, William M. Griffin, 22, of Essex, who Cox said was helping Yates sell the drugs, pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and is to be sentenced Nov. 17.
