Ohio Man Convicted Of Murder For Shooting Victim During Gun Sale

An Ohio suspect was found guilty of murdering a man during a gun sale last spring and then attempting to clean up the crime scene.

On April 6, a Stark County jury convicted 31-year-old Zachary Becker of murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence, and two firearm specifications, and he was sentenced him to 21 years to life behind bars, The Repository reported.

According to the outlet, Becker testified at trial he arranged a meeting with the victim, Michael Gates Jr., 38, in Canton in order to sell him a gun.

During the meeting, however, something went wrong between the two and Becker shot Gates dead outside the victim’s apartment building.

Becker testified he doused a doorknob with alcohol as well as hid the gun in an oven following the murder — actions he claimed he regretted.

“Mr. Becker, it became very clear to me through all of the evidence in the case that you did everything you could to avoid detection and that the only things you seem to regret are things that led to your capture,” Judge Chryssa Hartnett told the defendant at sentencing.

Becker went on the run until the U.S. Marshal's Violent Fugitive Task Force captured him on May 21, 2021, court documents show.