A 17-year-old teen from Sarasota has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of two British tourists.
Shawn Tyson killed James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, last April 16, a jury found.
Defense lawyers were scheduled to call another witness Wednesday but did not. The state then rested its case and closing arguments started a short time later.
According to investigators, the men had been drinking heavily that night and somehow ended up in the Sarasota neighborhood of Newtown.
Prosecutors say Tyson shot the men multiple times after a botched robbery attempt. Earlier this week, one of his friends, Latrice Washington, testified to that claim.
"He shot one of them in the side and one of them fell instantly,'' Washington said on the stand. "And then the other one was crying for his life and he (Tyson) shot him and emptied the clip on him.''
Tyson's lawyers contend that it was one of his friends, not Tyson, who did the shooting. The murder weapon, a .22-caliber handgun, was never recovered.
He faces life in prison. Tyson does not face the death penalty because he is under 18.