A man was found guilty Friday of fatally shooting a 20-year-old after the annual homecoming football game in Everett, Massachusetts, three years ago.
Michael J. Stanton, 22, of Everett, was convicted of second-degree murder in the October 2021 shooting death of Craig McDonald, Jr., according to a joint press release from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Everett Chief of Police Paul Strong.
“This case is an example of the dangerous trend of young people illegally possessing firearms and using them to perpetrate violence in our communities," Ryan said in a statement. "As hundreds of students, families and other spectators milled around the stadium celebrating an annual football tradition, the defendant brazenly tracked McDonald down in that same neighborhood. When he found him, he used an illegally possessed firearm to end his life."
"This was truly a senseless tragedy," Ryan added.
Officials have said that Everett police responded to a 911 call just before 8 p.m. on Oct. 22, 2021, for a report of shots fired in the area of Revere and Second streets. Minutes later, police were notified that McDonald had been taken to the CHA Everett Hospital Emergency Department with an apparent gunshot wound. The Randolph resident died shortly after.
The investigation revealed that the shooting occurred after a conflict on social media, officials said.
On the day of the murder, officials say that both McDonald and Stanton attended the homecoming game, where Stanton and his friends actively monitored McDonald and his girlfriend.
When McDonald left the game, officials say Stanton and his friends followed him to his car and shot him while he was sitting inside his parked vehicle.
Stanton, who was 19 years old at the time of the shooting, was convicted on the murder charge Friday following a three-week trial. He'll be sentenced Wednesday morning at the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.
"Although nothing can mitigate the harm done by this defendant, this prosecution reflects our commitment to holding accountable those who commit these violent acts,” the district attorney said.
Stanton’s co-defendant, Luiz Perlera, who is also charged with McDonald's murder, is scheduled to be tried on Oct. 23 in the Middlesex Superior Court. Attorney information for Perlera wasn't immediately clear.
