A jury on Thursday convicted 25-year-old Javante Walker of a murder that stemmed from a fatal shooting in September of 2021.
That shooting that killed 24-year-old Montell O’Neal happened at a large party in the 800 block of East Washington Street at a house hosted by students attending Holy Cross College.
Neither Walker nor O’Neal were Holy Cross students, but had instead arrived at the party after hearing about it through friends, court documents say.
Those documents say Walker and O’Neal had crossed paths at a bar earlier the night of the shooting and had to be physically separated. When the two crossed paths again at the party, the jury found Walker shot and killed O’Neal.
Now Walker faces anywhere from 50 to 85 years in prison for O’Neal’s murder.
In the wake of the shooting, east bank residents said large house parties are common and called for stricter enforcement of city nuisance ordinances.
