The gunman's plan had been to rob a makeshift convenience store operating out of a public housing unit in Cherry Hill. Sharnetta Crosby, who sold treats and cigarettes under the table for extra money, seemed an easy target.
But things quickly went sour, with the occupants of the home pushing the door back and the gunman wildly squeezing off three shots — one of which hit a 9-year-old boy in the stomach.
It was just before midnight on Sept. 17, 2013, and police quickly arrested Kenneth Graham, who was recorded on surveillance cameras running from the scene and discarding evidence, including the gun. Despite that evidence, Graham opted for a jury trial this week.
"There are complicated cases out there," Assistant U.S. Attorney Seema Mittal told jurors Thursday morning. "This is not one of them."
Jurors agreed. After about an hour of deliberations that included lunch, they convicted Graham on all charges. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life.
Detectives had tried to get Graham to admit his role during an interrogation the morning after the shooting. While the physical evidence tied Graham to the crime, detectives hoped to persuade him to admit to his involvement in the shooting, perhaps by explaining it was accidental.
"Maybe you weren't aware that a 9-year-old got shot," said Detective William Bailey, according to a transcript included in the court file.
"Because you never got in the house. You didn't know who you were shooting. Isn't that right?" said Lt. William Simmons.
"You were blind shooting. You were just shooting it blind. You didn't know what you were shooting at," Bailey said.
"So if it was an accident," Simmons continued. "A lot more people can understand an accident when your arm's getting slammed in the door and your finger's on the trigger. You didn't even mean to shoot."
Graham didn't budge.
The evidence would be laid out for jurors months later, and perhaps most important were Graham's shoes. In the struggle to get into the home, Graham lost his left black Nike high-top with a green stripe. Andre Smith, the first officer who responded to the scene, found it in the doorway.
Back at the police station, partner Ryan O'Connor was monitoring the surveillance camera network and picked up on a man running behind the 1100 block of Slater Road, less than a half-mile from the shooting scene. The man appeared to be shoeless and ducked into a wooded area out of view before running into a home.
O'Connor correctly guessed from the man's hunched gait that it was Graham, known to police in the area by his nickname, "Roly Poly."
Near Slater Road, police found the right shoe. In the wooded area, a police dog found the gun — a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver. Test-firing proved the gun matched the bullets fired at the scene.
When Officer Daniel Marcouiller, who also knew Graham, arrived at the home, Graham popped his head out of the upstairs window.
"Marcoulio," said Graham, mispronouncing the officer's name. "I've been taking a shower the whole time. What's going on?"
Marcouiller coaxed Graham out of the house and arrested him. At the Southern District station, Graham said he shared the shoes with other people and that he had taken the gun and sweatshirt from a friend. He said he couldn't possibly be on a camera alone, because he had been with other people.
"My answer is 'I did not shoot,' " Graham concluded in his interview with Bailey and Simmons.
At trial, Graham did not take the stand, and his court-appointed attorney, Stuart O. Simms, called no witnesses. Simms told jurors that prosecutors had made assumptions and filled in gaps. For example, the makeshift convenience store was not marked from the outside, making it unclear whether the gunman intended to commit a robbery — a key aspect to the case being tried in federal instead of state court.
As for the young shooting victim, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Sunderland Clark told jurors that he's gotten better but "he's not himself." He has trouble moving around and doesn't want to go outside. He doesn't ride bikes anymore, and doesn't play football like he used to.
Graham will be sentenced in May.