LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster teenager faces up to 52 years in prison after being convicted Thursday of third-degree murder and related offenses for shooting and killing a man in the city in 2019.
Rahmir Hopkins was 14 years old when he shot 24-year-old Luis Perez in the back during a fight with two of Hopkins' companions on Oct. 9, 2019, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
Now 16, Hopkins was convicted by a Lancaster County jury after two and a half hours of deliberation Thursday.
Lancaster County Judge Jeffrey D. Wright will issue a sentence for Hopkins at a later date.
According to testimony at trial, Hopkins and two companions were engaged in a fight with Perez on the 600 block of South Lime Street. The victim punched Hopkins prior to being shot. Hopkins' two friends then began punching Perez before Hopkins shot him in the back.
Perez died at the scene.
Hopkins was also convicted of possessing a firearm as a minor and carrying a firearm without a license after the four-day trial.
Prosecutors were seeking a first-degree murder verdict.
Assistant District Attorney Cody Wade presented evidence and called witnesses that were at the scene of the shooting and who gave statements to police following the incident that indicated Hopkins was the shooter.
The Commonwealth rested its case Thursday.
Witnesses included:
- A forensic pathologist who performed Perez’s autopsy and testified he was shot in the back with a single bullet while crouched and from a distance.
- An eyewitness who saw Hopkins put the gun into his waistband before running following the shooting.
- Detectives who recorded interviews with witnesses that saw Hopkins commit the crime and who admitted Hopkins told them he committed the crime.
