DECATUR - Brandon R. Shaw was convicted Wednesday afternoon of first-degree murder in the killing of Marcelle J. Brown by a jury that took about 90 minutes to reach the verdict, which was presented at 2:28 p.m.

The jury of eight women and four men also ruled that Shaw, 26, was guilty of discharging the firearm that caused Brown's death.

Shaw faces a minimum of 45 years in prison: 20 to 60 years for first-degree murder, with an additional 25 years to life for using a firearm while committing the crime. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Aug. 26.

During closing arguments, Assistant State's Attorney Jay Scott said Shaw chased Marcelle J. Brown, like a hunter chasing a fox, shooting him to death from behind as he ran.

Shaw's attorney said he did not intend to kill Brown, and it could have been a shooter from a passing car that fired the fatal shot.

The jury was handed the case at 1 p.m. on the seventh day of the trial.

Scott told the jury it was a peaceful evening June 30, 2008, with children playing outside on the 1300 block of East Main Street, when Shaw saw Brown driving by as he sat on a porch. After Shaw signaled for Brown to stop, the men approached each other in fighting postures, and Shaw began firing a handgun.

"He turned it into a combat zone, with bullets flying in all directions," Scott said.

Four eyewitnesses testified they saw Shaw shooting and none of them saw Brown with a gun in his hand or waistband, Scott told the jury.

Assistant Public Defender Randy Baker said it was possible that someone who was driving on nearby Stone Street fired the shot that killed Brown. Two witnesses testified that they saw a maroon car driving past the alley, with one saying he saw a handgun sticking out of the window.

The bullet that passed through Brown's thigh, severing his femoral artery, has never been found. Brown, who was only hit by that one bullet, bled to death in the alley between Main Street and Prairie Avenue. Witnesses testified that they saw Shaw repeatedly shooting at Brown on Main Street, and Shaw chasing him toward the alley. Shaw said he was shooting in the air and at the ground, just to scare Brown.

"We don't have any witnesses say they saw Brandon shoot Mr. Brown," Baker said, adding that it is not known from what direction the fatal bullet came.

In his final arguments, Scott dismissed the passing car shooter as a conspiracy theory.

While Shaw had testified that he never intended to kill Brown, Scott said that did not absolve him of criminal responsibility.

"When you knowingly pull the trigger of a gun in the direction of a human being, that is not an accident," Scott told the jury.

hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985