McGregor Found Guilty, Sentenced To Life In Prison
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- The man on trial for killing another man who was walking a University of Colorado student home in March 2011 has been found guilty.
Kevin McGregor was convicted of shooting and killing Todd Walker.
McGregor, 23, was found guilty of first degree murder Thursday afternoon. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole.
He was found guilty on three other counts: felony murder, aggravated attempted armed robbery and menacing. McGregor was also sentenced to eight years in prison for the aggravated attempted robbery conviction.
McGregor was on probation at the time of the shooting. The Boulder District Attorney's Office said terms of the probation prohibited him from having a weapon.
Prosecutors described McGregor as a "street thug wannabe" who shot and killed Todd Walker when he tried to defend a female friend in Boulder in the University Hill neighborhood.
That friend, Elizabeth Roach, talked to reporters after the verdict was announced.
"I went to where it happened, the first time since it happened, yesterday with one of my best friends and we put flowers out and I just... I've avoided that corner, I've avoided lots of things, I've had terrible, terrible dreams, just things that will never change said Walker's friend Roach.
When asked if the conviction and sentence brings any closure, Roach said, "Yeah, it does. I mean, I've worried about it for almost a year now and I did what I had to do. I think I did it well."
A defense attorney said on Thursday that McGregor didn't mean to shoot Walker and that the gun went off during a struggle.
The .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun was allegedly found in the ceiling of a sandwich shop where McGregor worked. A photo of it was displayed in Boulder County Court during the trial on Thursday.
In preliminary hearings last year prosecutors claimed McGregor ordered tacos just minutes after the shooting.
Walker, 20, played football at the University of New Hampshire and grew up in Eagle County. He graduated from a high school in Edwards.