3 teens guilty in subway beating death

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two teens were convicted Tuesday of third-degree murder and a third of a lesser charge in the fatal beating of a coffee-shop manager on a downtown subway concourse last year.

Eighteen-year-old Ameer Best and 17-year-old Nashir Fisher face up to 80 years in prison in the death of Sean Conroy in March 2008.

Authorities say a group of teens attacked Conroy unprovoked, triggering a fatal asthma attack.

A third defendant, 17-year-old Kinta Stanton, was found innocent of third-degree murder but was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy.

Sharon Conroy, the mother of the victim, said she hoped that the maximum sentence would be imposed.

The verdicts came at the end of a day of jury deliberations. Two other teens have pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing.

Conroy’s death was the first of several unprovoked subway assaults that alarmed the city last year.

All five teens had skipped school in North Philadelphia to head to a downtown mall, according to prosecutors. The teens were on the subway platform when someone challenged another group member to hit someone, and Conroy was punched from behind, authorities said.

A police officer soon observed four teens beating and kicking the man. By the time the officer got to him, Conroy was on his knees, gasping for breath. He was pronounced dead within the hour.

All three defendants told police they didn’t hit Conroy, but Stanton was the only one to take the stand in his own defense.