Two gunmen convicted at Palestra trial

Kyle McLemore and Nathaniel Ortiz were convicted of third-degree murder in connection with the March 1 shooting. The two men charged with last March's fatal shooting outside the Palestra were convicted yesterday of third-degree murder and several related charges. After 1 1/2 days of deliberations at the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets, the jury decided that Kyle McLemore and Nathaniel Ortiz, both 21, killed 22-year-old Anthony Davis last March 1 following a high school basketball game at the Palestra. The series of shootings also wounded three other people -- including one Penn student who was hit by a stray bullet while working in a nearby building. Though McLemore's mother sobbed when the jury read its verdict, McLemore's attorney, Charles Peruto, said he was happy with the verdict. "I've never been so relieved with a guilty verdict. It could have easily been first-degree murder," said Peruto, who has maintained McLemore's innocence since his arrest just days after the shooting. Ortiz's lawyer, Fortunato Perri, left the courtroom immediately after the verdict was read and could not be reached for comment yesterday. The third-degree verdict also pleased Assistant District Attorney Jude Conroy, who had been pushing for a first-degree conviction throughout the trial. Conroy said both men would likely face at least 50 years in prison for the murder without premeditation. A sentencing hearing will be held in the spring. Peruto credited the lesser conviction to the fact that Davis's body was on top of a gun that had fired off one shot. The defense stressed during the trial that Davis was a violent drug dealer who brought his murder upon himself. Peruto called the murder "a drug territory shoot out that was inflamed by a girl." But Conroy disputed that assertion. "All indications are that it was no drug involvement," Conroy said, saying that the fight was over a girl and nothing more. The courtroom was packed with friends and family of the defendants and the victim. But just before the guilty verdict was read at 12:05 p.m., Philadelphia Police officers ordered everyone but immediate family out of the room. Police had said they wouldn't allow any non-family members in the room to hear the verdict because of two brawls that erupted outside of the courtroom during the trial, including one on Friday afternoon. Davis's mother was present for the verdict along with Latisha Ferebee, who was shot in the elbow during the incident. Neither would comment after the verdict was announced. The jury -- consisting of three men and nine women -- agreed fully on the verdict and were asked by Fortunato Perri, Ortiz's attorney, to individually stand and state their vote of agreement or disagreement about Ortiz's guilt. Each juror maintained his agreement with the verdict. In his opening statement last week, Peruto said that the prosecution would have to put a gun in McLemore's hand in order to prove guilt. Conroy's key witness, Jeffrey Noble, was in Davis' car shortly before the shooting began and testified that he saw McLemore running toward the vehicle with a gun pointed. Oscar Tucker, who was also in Davis's car prior to the shooting, said he saw Ortiz with a "black object" near his side, but could not positively identify the object as a gun. The defense did not present a case of its own. During its closing statements, the defense reminded the jurors that no one had seen either McLemore or Ortiz shooting a gun and that no one had seen Ortiz with a weapon. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writers Frank Cho and Karlene Hanko contributed to this article.