A Brooklyn street tough was found guilty of murder Tuesday for gunning down a rival with a weapon he’d nicknamed “Loretta” and hidden in a baby’s crib.
Jurors deliberated for just about an hour.
Daneel Edwards, 28, bowed his head when the jury foreman announced he was guilty of shooting steamfitter and father-of-four Martin Williams, 42, in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens on April 9, 2013.
“He took his 9mm gun, that he so affectionately called ‘Loretta,’ and fired over and over and over again,” Brooklyn prosecutor Melissa Carvajal said during the trial opening.
The dispute between Edwards and Williams began in a bodega and ended after an Edwards pal fetched him “Loretta” right before the shooting, court papers state.
“There are no winners here. As parents, our hearts goes out to [Daneel’s parents],” father Winston Williams, 66, said outside court, adding, “This does bring closure for our son.”
A juror from Park Slope said the guilty verdict was an easy conclusion.
“There wasn’t much of a choice. I don’t know why it went that far,” he said, adding that the jury discounted any self-defense argument but did debate whether Edwards intended to kill Williams.