A 12-member jury handed down a guilty verdict at approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday night in the second-degree murder trial of a Lacombe man, who while still a teenager, took the life of one of his neighbors.

The jury heard testimony in District Judge A. J. Hand’s Covington courtroom earlier in the week from an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy who testified that he witnessed Jared Graham fire more than one shot into the body of Travis Williams, as the man laid dying in front of his home on Dec. 21, 2005.

Graham, who was only 16 at the time of the incident, did not deny killing Williams, who at 26 was 10 years his senior, but his defense attorney argued that he was guilty of manslaughter and not second-degree murder as he was charged because the crime happened during a fit of rage and as an act of self-defense. However, after hearing testimony from both sides, which included Graham, himself taking the stand Friday afternoon, the jury opted to find him guilty as charged.

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life in prison, a hefty sentence for someone who is only 20 years old. Manslaughter, would have netted him no more than 40 years behind bars. Testimony in the trial brought the jury back to 2005 on Erindale Drive in Lacombe.

Graham, who was not only younger but also notably smaller, and Williams were involved in a physical altercation earlier in the day in which Graham sustained some minor injuries. The two men lived in the same Lacombe neighborhood and their families knew each other.

Deputy Robert Edwards was at his home in the same neighborhood when he heard the shots and ran out. He observed Graham clutching a shotgun and shooting bullets from a pistol into Williams’ body.

Graham fled into his home, but Williams was able to talk briefly to Edwards before being brought to the hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds.