DULUTH – On Christmas Day 2018, Jerome D. Spann walked up to a man on a residential Hibbing street, said, "What up now, Jason?" and put three bullets in his body.
Jeryel "Jason" McBeth was taken to a hospital and died. He was 34.
Nearly three years later, a judge has found Spann, 32, guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree murder and second-degree assault following a brief trial last month.
In an apparent bid to settle a score following an altercation the night before, Spann found McBeth standing outside talking to neighbors on the evening of Dec. 25, according to court records. Spann then exited an SUV, took a revolver from his waistband and fired five bullets, three of which hit McBeth. The spray of bullets injured two others.
Prosecutors said that "Spann's motive and the way he pursued that motive establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the murder of Jeryel McBeth was premeditated."
Defense attorneys argued the state had not firmly established Spann as the killer and relied on unreliable witnesses.
St. Louis County District Judge Rachel Sullivan filed her ruling Monday, finding Spann guilty on all three felony charges against him. Spann had waived his right to a jury trial and opted to let a judge decide his fate.
"The convictions in this matter have been a long time in coming for the family of Jeryel McBeth," Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Jessica Fralich said in a statement Tuesday. "We are hopeful this will provide the family some peace as we move forward to sentencing."
