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2 men convicted in shooting death of Detroit teen

Chauncey Owens, Charles Jones found guilty of murder

DETROIT – Separate juries have returned guilty verdicts against two men charged in the 2010 shooting death of 17 year old Detroit teenager Je'Rean Blake.

Chauncey Owens was convicted of first degree murder. Charles Jones was convicted of second degree murder.

"I can get some sleep now. I have justice for my son," said Blake's mother Lyvonne Cargill.

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Blake's killing outside a Detroit party store led to a police raid on Jones' home. After a flash grenade was detonated, a single shot killed Jones' seven-year-old daughter Aiyana.

Officer Joseph Weekly fired the fatal shot, and is awaiting a retrial.

In the Blake case, Owens had agreed earlier to plead guilty to second degree murder, in exchange for his testimony against Jones. He eventually backed out of the deal.

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"He just couldn't live with himself entering a guilty plea for something he didn't do," said Owens' lawyer, David Cripps.

Prosecutors argued that Jones gave Owens the gun used to kill Blake. Although the jury found Jones guilty of second degree murder, it acquitted him of two firearms charges.

His lawyer, Leon Weiss, calls the verdict "contradictory."

He and Cripps say the convictions will be appealed.


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