FRANKLIN
A jury found Franklin murder suspect Joseph McDonald Lynch Jr. guilty of all charges on Friday in Southampton County Circuit Court, after eight hours of deliberation. This information comes from Capt. Tim Whitt, spokesman for the Franklin City Police Dept.

Lynch was convicted of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, shooting into an occupied vehicle and discharging a firearm in public resulting in death.

As a result, Lynch will spend a total of 63 years in prison, having received a sentence of 45 years on the murder charge, an additional three years for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, an additional five years for shooting in public resulting in death and an additional 10 years for shooting into an occupied vehicle.

All charges were in connection with the death of Martinez D. Hill, who was shot in the head while riding in a vehicle on the night of Dec. 12, 2014. Whitt said at the time of the incident that the shooting had occurred in the 1400 block of Rosewood Avenue in Franklin.

Hill — who, according to police, went by the street name “TT” — was dropped off at the emergency room at Southampton Memorial Hospital that evening shortly after being struck. The other occupants of the vehicle fled after dropping Hill off and Hill later died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The FPD’s investigation led them to suspect Lynch, who went by the street name “Chunk.” The case was successfully prosecuted by the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.