Pair found guilty of murdering man with ricochet bullet over alleged marijuana deal

A Superior Court jury took less than three hours to convict two Fresno men in the killing of a man who was struck by ricochet bullet in an alleged marijuana deal gone bad.

Shawn Lamont Brown and Lachance Larue Thomas, both 21, were found guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the 2015 killing of Von Randell Correia Jr., 29, at an east-central Fresno apartment, prosecutor William Lacy said.

Brown, who was identified as the gunman, faces 50 years to life in prison; Thomas faces 26 years to life, Lacy said. They will be sentenced on Nov. 2.

During the trial, Lacy said Correia was shot in the back by a ricochet bullet at the Ashwood Garden apartments on Shields Avenue near Maple Avenue just after midnight on July 28, 2015. Two women and a 13-year-old girl saw Brown and Thomas in the apartment’s courtyard right before gunfire erupted, Lacy said. The three witnesses later identified Brown and Thomas for police, he said.

Before the victim was shot, residents heard someone say: “Do you have any trees?” In street talk, police say, “trees” means marijuana.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Pair found guilty of murdering man with ricochet bullet over alleged marijuana deal."