A Fayette Circuit Court jury found Deionta Hayes guilty Tuesday of murder in the 2012 shooting death of Henry Clay High School sophomore Chaz Black.

Hayes, 24, also was convicted on two counts of second-degree assault and one count of theft of a handgun.

"We got justice," said Arnola Edwards, an aunt of Black.

Brian Hewlett, a member of the team of public defenders representing Hayes, declined to comment.

Additionally, the jury found Hayes' cousin Dominique Godfrey, 24, not guilty on all counts of murder, two counts of assault and theft of a firearm.

"We believed in his innocence from the beginning," public defender Mike Bufkin said. "I was absolutely certain this was the right verdict. I would have been grossly disappointed if it had been anything else. I'm glad Dommie's going home."

The defense asserted that Hayes shot in self-defense to protect himself from a perceived threat, but the prosecution asked the jury to reject that notion because Black was unarmed.

Murder is punishable by 20 years to life in prison. Second-degree assault is punishable by five to 10 years in prison. Theft of a firearm is punishable by one to five years in prison.

Hayes was accused of firing the gun that shot Black, 16, in the chest and wounding two other young men in an apartment at Palumbo Drive and Man o' War Boulevard.

Godfrey was accused of having Hayes driven to the apartment to assist in getting money back that Godfrey had lost in a dice game. But Godfrey's defense said there was no evidence of that.

Hayes and Godfrey did not testify during the trial.

The verdicts were returned after seven hours of deliberation Monday and eight hours Tuesday. At one point Tuesday, jurors watched the recorded testimony of some witnesses who testified during the trial.

The trial now enters a penalty phase, in which the jury must recommend punishment. The penalty phase is set to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.