A jury Monday convicted a Garfield man of second-degree murder in the 2021 shooting of a college student working a summer job at a U-Haul rental center.
Braijon Burton, 24, will be sentenced May 6 in the killing of Jacob Jaillet.
Second-degree murder, which is a killing carried out during the commission of a felony, carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.
Jurors deliberated about 10 hours over two days before delivering their verdict Monday afternoon.
Burton killed Jaillet outside the rental center and stole a pickup from the business in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood. Police arrested Burton after he crashed into a police car after a short chase.
Jaillet was 21 and a student at Edinboro University. He died five days after the shooting.
Burton had been in and out of the store July 27, 2021, to inquire about renting a pickup, according to testimony during the trial. He returned just after 4:30 p.m. that day and said the truck he wanted to see was locked.
Jaillet went out to help him and was shot. His best friend from kindergarten, Corey Dick, heard the shooting and ran out to see Jaillet on the ground, bleeding from the neck.
In addressing the jury, Burton’s lawyer admitted his client’s guilt right away.
But he sought leniency, asking the jury to find Burton guilty of third-degree murder, a less severe offense than first- or second-degree murder, and one that carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
Court records show that in addition to the murder charge, Burton was also found guilty of robbery of a motor vehicle, aggravated assault, a gun offense, fleeing or eluding police and reckless endangerment.
