BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Guilty on all counts.
That was the verdict handed down Wednesday in Morgan County in the triple murder trial of a Great Cacapon man.
Erick Shute was found guilty for each of the June 2016 murders of three men in the Valley High Timber Farms subdivision.
Jack Douglas, Travis Bartley and William Bartley Jr. were shot to death over an ongoing dispute with Shute. Police said Shute ambushed them.
The Morgan Messenger reports the jury deliberated for less than two hours before handing down the verdict — guilty of first degree murder on each count with no mercy.
That means the 35 year old will not be eligible for parole and must serve a life sentence on each count.
Shute was also found guilty of attempted first-degree murder for trying to shoot and kill a fourth man — Terry Lee Marks — during the same incident.
Shute claimed he shot the men in self-defense because he believed one of them had a firearm.
Shute’s sentencing is set for September 12.
This story is from WEPM Radio in Martinsburg, a MetroNews affiliate.