VIRGINIA BEACH Jerome Usher was convicted today of two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of his girlfriend and a male acquaintance.
Jurors took less than three hours to determine Usher had planned the Nov. 4, 2007, killings of Brenda Gregory Burnett and James Vass at a townhome on Pollypine Drive.
Defense attorneys had argued for a lesser charge by contending Usher acted on an impulse because he suspected Vass and Burnett of having a relationship.
Prosecutors argued that Usher waited in his pickup outside the townhouse for Burnett to come home. When she arrived with Vass, Usher slipped a knife inside his jacket pocket and accompanied them inside, where he carried out his plan to stab them to death. The sentencing phase of the trial is set to continue through this afternoon. Usher, 46, faces up to life in prison for first degree murder.
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