panoo

Associated Press
8/22/2007 5:37:53 PM

DETROIT (AP) - An 18-year-old Detroit man was convicted Wednesday of fatally stabbing two former co-workers at a downtown restaurant owned by Detroit Red Wings defenceman Chris Chelios.

A Wayne County Circuit Court jury deliberated about three hours before finding Justin Blackshere guilty of first-degree murder. He faces mandatory life imprisonment at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 7.

Blackshere was charged in the Jan. 2 deaths of Cheli's Chili Bar manager Megan Soroka, 49, and chef Mark Barnard, 52. Blackshere had been fired in November and told police he had gone to the restaurant to get his job as a busboy back.

Seven witnesses, including Chelios, identified Blackshere as the person shown on restaurant surveillance cameras on the morning of the killings.

Defence lawyer Earl Washington told the Detroit News that he wasn't surprised by the verdict.

FULL STORY