VERDICT: Jury convicts New York-New York gunman on 51 of 52 charges

Steven Zegrean, who wounded four people when he walked into the New York-New York and shot it up in 2007, was convicted tonight of 51 out of 52 charges against him.

A District Court jury deliberated for more than four hours before returning the decision.

He faced 52 criminal counts, including 17 charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon. The attempted murder charges represented every shot he fired or tried to fire on July 6, 2007.

Prosecutors told the jury that Zegrean entered the casino with a loaded 9 mm handgun, five loaded pistol magazines and dozens of loose cartridges. In all, he had 249 rounds of ammunition on him when he began firing into the crowded casino.

“He didn’t go there to have dinner,” said county prosecutor David Schubert. “He went there with an intention.”

Dozens of tourists scattered after Zegrean opened fire inside the casino. Some ran to exits while others sought shelter behind slot machines.

At the end of the shooting, four people were wounded, including a 13-year-old boy from California and a dance instructor from Pennsylvania.

During his closing argument, Schubert shows the jurors photos of the casino in the aftermath of Zegrean’s shooting. One photo showed the casino’s gaming floor littered with spent shells. Another showed several of the victims with bullet wounds.

Zegrean didn’t testify during the trial. Each day, he sat at a table with his defense attorneys and a Hungarian interpreter.

Deputy Public Defender Lynn Avants said Zegrean didn’t go to New York-New York to murder hundreds of tourists. Rather, Zegrean, who immigrated from Hungary more than 20 years ago, opened fire to cause a panic with the intention of forcing police to shoot and kill him.

Avants conceded that Zegrean’s actions were misguided, reckless and dangerous. He even told the jury that they should find the defendant guilty of burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm into a structure.

But he said Zegrean wasn’t guilty of the most serious charges — attempted murder, assault and battery — because he never intended to hurt people.

After his arrest, Zegrean told police that he waited several hours before shooting inside the casino because he didn’t want to hurt any children. He also asked police if he hurt anyone immediately after police arrested him.

“He didn’t have any intent to kill,” Avants told the jury.

But prosecutor Ravi Bawa said Zegrean should have pulled out his gun at a police station if he wanted to commit suicide-by-cop, not a crowded casino.

He also dismissed Zegrean’s suicidal depression as a justification for the shooting.

“You can’t commit crimes because things aren’t going well for you,” he said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.