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WARREN -- A sentencing date of Oct. 26 has been set for Gavin Roberts after he was convicted Wednesday of the murder and robbery of 37-year-old Brice Hilton in a Warren neighborhood.
After two hours of deliberation Wednesday, jurors convicted Roberts, 18, of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery, but found him innocent of aggravated burglary and a second murder charge.
He was only 17 years old when he committed the Nov. 19 slaying of Hilton last year after luring the Pennsylvania resident to the area under the guise of selling him a cellphone. When Hilton arrived to their meeting location, Roberts failed to produce a cellphone, instead trying to sell Hilton an iPhone box with a potato inside. Roberts shot Hilton several times when the man tried to back out of the sale and leave.
After the reading of the verdict, assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker said Roberts, whom he described as a "cold, calculated killer," will be in prison for at least 23 years before he's eligible for parole.
Sentencing will take place before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia W. Rice.