Gang Member Guilty of Murder in Slaying of 5-Year-Old Boy Dressed as Spider-Man

Aaron Shannon Jr. was preparing for a Halloween party in his Spider-Man costume when he was shot and killed in South Los Angeles

A gang member was convicted of murder Wednesday in the shooting of a 5-year-old boy who was dressed as Spider-Man on Halloween in 2010.

Leonard Hall Jr. was found guilty of one count of murder and guilty on two counts of attempted murder with gun and gang enhancements in the slaying Oct. 31, 2010 of Aaron Shannon Jr.

Aaron was posing for photos, getting ready for a Halloween party, when two men fired shots at the boy and his family members thinking they were targeting a rival gang house. Aaron was shot in the head and died a day later.

Aaron's grandfather, William Shannon, and uncle, Terrence Shannon, were grazed by bullets.

Hall, 24, and Marcus Denson, 18, were arrested days later and charged in the murder. Hall was accused of firing the shots.

Jurors deadlocked in Hall's first two trials.

Denson pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and one count of voluntary manslaughter. He was set to be sentenced Thursday.

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Hall's sentencing hearing is set for July 21.

William Shannon, who bought the costume for his grandson, said there are no words that fully express what he feels now that a jury has returned a  verdict  in the death of his 5-year-old grandson.

"Death came knocking at our door ... wasn't invited," he said. "There is a sense of relief that this part of the ordeal is over."

Defense attorney Carol Ojo said she's confident the case will be overturned on appeal.

"I have a feeling some people are not sleeping well with this verdict because it's not based on individual feeling," she said.

She said jurors deadlocked on a decision Tuesday and may have been acting on pressure from the court.

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