In a white dress shirt and black pants, no tie or belt, Shane Anthony Liggins betrayed no emotion Friday afternoon as he was convicted of third-degree murder.

Liggins, 19, faces a maximum of 20 to 40 years in state prison for the shooting death of Edward "Roi" Harrison when he returns July 7 for sentencing by Common Pleas Court Judge John H. Chronister. Until then, Liggins will remain in York County Prison without bail.

Harrison was gunned down outside his home in the 700 block of Wallace Street about 11:30 p.m. March 7, 2007. According to his wife, Mary Harrison, they had argued, and he stepped outside to cool off.

Court testimony established that Harrison was on his cell phone with a friend who heard him say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I ain't got nothing," followed by three loud noises.

Mary Harrison, who was inside waiting for her husband, said she heard three gunshots.

Liggins was identified as a suspect by York City Police after another man who was arrested on drug charges said Liggins told him he "popped" someone.

Mary Harrison's left foot bounced nervously up and down as she waited for the jury to deliver the verdict Friday. After Liggins was acquitted of first- and second-degree murder and convicted of third-degree murder, her nervous energy dissipated.

"I would say it wouldn't have been my verdict," she said outside the seventh-floor courtroom after Liggins was led away by deputies with his hands cuffed behind his back.

"He'll have some time to

contemplate his actions. Hopefully, other young men will see this and not pursue the life he has chosen.

"Even though it (the verdict) doesn't satisfy me, it's justified as far as his peers are concerned. In his final days, he will account to God.

"Now I'm going home and have a little peace."

Immediately after the verdict, Liggins' attorney, Sandra Thompson, moved to have the conviction set aside. Chronister told her she could file a written motion outlining her argument.

"There was no believable evidence at all," Thompson said later. "The jury had to base its decision on speculation."

Thompson conceded that Liggins' confession to detectives in June 2007, where he claimed he shot Harrison in self-defense, was "the hardest part to overcome, if you deem it a confession, and how that confession was obtained."

Thompson argued during trial that police improperly questioned Liggins without an attorney present.

She maintained that, when he was being questioned, an attorney his parents hired was trying to locate him.

In response to Thompson's lack-of-evidence claim, Senior Prosecutor Joshua Neiderhiser said, "Obviously there is (evidence). The jury convicted him."

Neiderhiser, who was representing the commonwealth in his first homicide trial, said he knew arguing for a first-degree murder conviction would be difficult, but he added, "Going in, we thought we had a solid case for third-degree (murder)."

He said because of the circumstances of the case and the lack of motive for Harrison's murder, "We will be seeking the maximum (sentence)."

"We think that's what he deserves," he said.

rlee@ydr.com

AT A GLANCE

---The crime: Edward "Roi" Harrison, 25, was shot to death outside his home in the 700 block of Wallace Street while talking on his cell phone March 7, 2007.

--- The trial: A York County jury convicted Shane Anthony Liggins of third-degree murder Friday after three days of testimony and about 41/2 hours of deliberations.

--- What's next: Liggins, 19, remains in county prison without bail pending his July 7 sentencing. He faces a maximum of 20 to 40 years in state prison.