Crime

Michael Stanton was sentenced to 19 years in prison on Wednesday after he was found guilty of murdering Craig McDonald Jr. after a football game in Everett in 2021.

A man was found guilty of murdering a spectator after a homecoming football game in Everett, the Middlesex County District Attorney announced on Tuesday.

Michael Stanton shot and killed 20-year-old Craig McDonald Jr. of Randolph on Oct. 22, 2021 with an illegally obtained gun, the statement said. The conflict between the two men began on social media, prosecutors said. A statement of facts of the case said McDonald Jr.’s girlfriend “disrespected” Stanton’s best friend online.  

The two men were at the homecoming game while Stanton and his friends “actively monitored” McDonald Jr., court documents said. During halftime, Stanton and his friends, known as the “Villa Ave” group, put on masks and hoods, documents said. The “Villa Ave” members followed McDonald Jr. to the parking lot and shot him in his car, the DA said. 

McDonald Jr.’s friend drove him to the hospital before police arrived, court records said. McDonald died later that night, according to court records.

“This case is an example of the dangerous trend of young people illegally possessing firearms and using them to perpetrate violence in our communities,” District Attorney Marian Ryan said. “Although nothing can mitigate the harm done by this defendant, this prosecution reflects our commitment to holding accountable those who commit these violent acts.”

Stanton, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, was tried and convicted in Middlesex Superior Court. Judge Laurence Pierce sentenced Stanton to 19 years in prison with the possibility of parole on Wednesday, according to court documents. 

Representation for Stanton did not immediately reply to a request for comment.