NORFOLK, Va. — A federal jury convicted a Suffolk man for shooting his boyfriend in the Great Dismal Swamp earlier this year.
26-year-old Maurice Lee was found guilty Thursday of assault with intent to commit murder and discharge of a firearm.
"But for the grace of God, the victim survived and was able to provide details about having been lured deep into the Dismal Swamp only to have his partner shoot him point-blank in the chest," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in a news release.
According to court documents, Lee and his boyfriend had a tumultuous, multi-year relationship. Lee was visiting from Pennsylvania to pick up some of his belongings. On May 12, the day he was planning to return home, Lee invited the victim to a picnic at the Great Dismal Swamp.
After walking several miles onto Lynn Ditch Road, Lee pulled out a gun and shot the victim in the chest, telling him, “You were disloyal.”
Lee then threatened to shoot the victim again in the head if he told anyone what happened.
Lee eventually called 911, telling the dispatcher that he was trying to shoot a bear, but missed and hit the victim.
The victim survived and on his hospital bed, told investigators the bear story was not true.
Lee faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, with a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2020.