Halloween shooter convicted of attempted murder
Brandon Spencer, the man accused of shooting a rival gang member on campus last Halloween, was convicted of four counts of attempted murder on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times. Spencer could face life in prison.
Halloween shooting · Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department place shooting victim Geno Hall into an ambulance Nov. 1, 2012 following the attack in Tutor Center Auditorium. – Joseph Chen | Daily Trojan
Twenty-one-year-old Spencer shot twenty-two-year-old Geno Hall in October of 2012 amid a crowd of more than 100 people waiting in line to enter a Halloween party at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center Ballroom hosted by the Black Student Assembly. Prosecutors argued in court that Spencer committed the shooting in retaliation for a gunshot wound he suffered a year earlier. They said the shooting was further motivated by a fight between Spencer and Hall on Twitter.
Police maintain that Spencer attempted to flee the scene, discarding his shirt in the process. Spencer was found near a USC parking lot half a mile from the shooting scene. Police recovered a black revolver they believed to be Spencer’s three hours after the shooting.
Hall sustained four wounds and three other men were injured in the shooting. According to the L.A. Times, Hall testified that he still has a bullet lodged in his pelvis area and continues to suffer from back pain due to the incident.
A USC Dept. of Public Safety officer testified that he saw Spencer lift the gun out of his waistband. The officer later identified Spencer out of the possible suspects detained due to his height, clothing and skin shade.
Spencer’s attorney John Blanchard defended his client by saying that many partygoers were wearing clothing similar to Spencer’s. Furthermore, Blanchard noted that the DNA found on the gun was only a partial match, according to the L.A. Times.
Blanchard told reporters that Spencer plans to appeal.