The verdict brought an end to the circuitous trial of the three men accused and now convicted of the savage killings of two teenage boys, Collin Romero and Ahmed Lateef, in Albuquerque, NM.
In December 2018, the bodies of the boys were discovered in a remote area of Sandoval County, two weeks after they had disappeared.
Stephen Goldman Jr., Jimmie Atkins, and Julio Almentero were each found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
The prosecution argued for premeditation, malice and depraved indifference of human life in the killings, painting a gut-wrenching image of the crime in which Lateef had been shot 19 times and Romero at least 9 times before they were buried in the sandy meadow.
The jury heard from two other men involved in the case, along with a string of eyewitnesses who had seen the teenagers enter the assailants’ vehicle on the evening of their disappearance.
The jury returned the verdicts shortly before noon on Monday, after a week of deliberation.
The court’s decision is a reminder of the consequences attached to such senseless violence. As the accused face life in prison when they are sentenced at a later date, the families of Lateef and Romero can take solace in the fact that justice has been served.