SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man has been convicted of second-degree murder for shooting a National Guardsman from Connecticut who was enjoying a night out before being deployed to Iraq.
The Republican newspaper reports that 32-year-old Michael Rodriguez, of Holyoke, was convicted Wednesday of killing Julian Cartie in February 2009 in Springfield.
Rodriguez faces sentencing next week.
Prosecutors say the 25-year-old Cartie and friends were headed to a restaurant after the clubs closed when they got into a confrontation with Rodriguez, who felt disrespected because Cartie’s friend yelled to the women in Rodriguez’s car.
Cartie was a former high school football star in New Britain, Connecticut.
Rodriguez’s lawyer said Cartie was drunk and aggressive and the shooting was in self-defense.
The shooting remained unsolved until a tip led to Rodriguez’s arrest in 2014.
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