FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two men were convicted Friday of killing a homeless man with a baseball bat and viciously attacking two others in 2006. One of the beatings was captured on videotape, outraging homeless advocates nationwide.
Prosecutors sought first-degree murder charges against Brian Hooks, 21, and Thomas Daugherty, 19. After deliberating about nine hours over two days, a jury convicted them of lesser second-degree murder and two counts each of attempted second-degree murder. They could face life in prison.
Prosecutors repeatedly played the surveillance video, which shows a surviving victim desperately trying to cover his body from numerous blows. At closing arguments, prosecutors also presented baseball bats similar to the ones the defendants used, describing how the men hid the bats in their pants and sneaked up on defenseless victims like 45-year-old Norris Gaynor, who was sleeping on a park bench when he was beaten to death.