Backyard scene at 2830 High St. October 11, 2016 where two teenagers were shot by a homeowner early Sunday morning after climbing a fence to allegedly steal marijuana plants. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Denver man who killed teen raiding his marijuana grow is convicted of murder

A Denver jury has convicted a man of shooting two teenagers who he said had climbed a fence into his yard to steal marijuana plants.

The jury also determined that Keith Hammock’s marijuana grow was illegal, according to a news release from the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

Hammock, 49, was found guilty of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault-deadly weapon, processing or manufacturing marijuana, and cultivation of marijuana.

The shooting happened at 2 a.m. Oct. 9 in the backyard of Hammock’s home in the 2800 block of High Street. Keylin Mosley, 15, was killed and a 14-year-old boy was wounded.

Hammock told police that a motion-activated light came on when the teens entered the backyard. He shot the teens with a .22-caliber rifle from a second-story window of his home.

After the fatal shooting, a 17-year-old boy told investigators that he had been wounded by Hammock under similar circumstances in 2015.

This story was first published on DenverPost.com