Thornton convicted of murder in 2015 slaying of Anthony Hale Jr.
After about four and a half hours of deliberation, the only person to stand trial for the murder of Anthony Hale Jr. in 2015 was found guilty on Tuesday.
Jurors came in with the verdict about 10 a.m., according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Marcus Reid, convicting Robert Thornton of intentional murder in the incident.
“We appreciate the hard work of the jury and we believe that this is the correct verdict,” Reid said. “The family and our office are grateful.”
Thornton’s sentencing is currently scheduled for Jan. 10. Reid said because this verdict was classified as a Class A felony with a firearms enhancement, prosecutors are seeking a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison with a maximum sentence of 99 years, or life in prison.
Jurors also considered charges of reckless murder against Thornton, but could only convict him for one of the two crimes.
Testimony concluded on Thursday in the courtroom of Judge Cody Robinson, where the state rested its case on Friday with no additional witnesses being called by the defense. Closing arguments were made on Monday.
Hale, a standout athlete at Adairsville High School in Georgia before transferring to Gadsden City High, was 17 — and, according to authorities then and prosecutors during the trial, an innocent bystander — when he was shot in the head on March 14, 2015, after a fight broke out during a private party in a Gadsden nightclub.
The fighters had been kicked out to the streets; Hale was shot in the parking lot on the corner of Seventh and Broad streets, alongside three others. He later died of his injuries at UAB Hospital.
Five people were arrested in connection with Hale’s murder, three adults and two juveniles. Out of those, only two were indicted and Thornton was the only one to stand trial.
The other suspect, Montarious Hill, was fatally shot in 2016 after an attempted house robbery in Huntsville.
Thornton, 25, of Anniston, also was free on bond at the time of the robbery and was also arrested in connection with it. He was returned to jail after a revocation of his bond was sought.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Robert Thornton, suspect in Anthony Hale Jr. murder, found guilty
