It didn't take long for a jury to deliberate the fate of Melvin Smith, the man accused of killing his girlfriend last summer. "The jury returned a verdict in the Melvin Smith case, on all counts, particularly 1st degree murder, 1st degree assault, the use of a handgun in the commission of a crime and finally stalking," said Frederick County States Attorney Charlie Smith. Smith, also known as Rock, was found guilty on all counts. "And of course, we will be asking for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole," continued Smith. "It didn't take them long to deliberate. It took about as long as it would for them to eat lunch."

On July 8, 2011, Smith chased down 33 year old Tranice Richardson as she walked from her Orchard Terrace apartment with her son Keanan Richardson and shot her seven times in a common area behind townhouses. "We are very pleased with the verdict. Obviously it was a lot of work put in by the prosecutors and the police agencies," Smith said.

Smith said this ending should be a huge relief for Richardson’s family. "They’ve been son wonderful. They’ve been very supportive. This guy is a true menace. He stalked Tranice. He made over 1400 calls leading up to her death," continued Smith.

The Richardson family was in the courtroom during the closing arguments. "It was difficult on them. You could see a lot of them with their heads in their hands. Some were crying when Assistant State’s Attorney Lindell K. Angel recounted the facts of the murder and how many times she was shot and how she was shot."

Sentencing will be sometime during the week of July 16th.