Kids, Kids

A 22-year-old Marine, who said a 22-year-old sailor "disrespected" him at Club Metro, was convicted May 2 of second-degree murder for the death of that sailor.

Myron A. Thomas and two other Marines were accused of getting into an argument with some sailors at the 32nd Street Naval Station nightclub in November 2003. Roderick Little was later shot from a passing car while he stood at a nearby Del Taco. He died. Three other people were wounded.

Thomas admitted during his trial that he fired the shots from an AK-47 assault rifle but claimed he acted in self-defense. He said he was high from a "marijuana cigarette treated with formaldehyde" when he saw one of the sailors he'd argued with reach for a gun in his waistband. Thomas's attorney said his service in Iraq had left Thomas "emotionally distraught" and "prone to arguments." Why the defendant had a loaded assault rifle was left unexplained.

Thomas faces 40 years to life in prison at his July 29 sentencing. Another defendant, 20-year-old Kenneth Hall, was acquitted of driving the vehicle. A third man, 19-year-old Bernard Jones, pleaded no contest to being a post-murder accessory for hiding the weapon's shell casings. He was sentenced to time already served and released.